ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Defense Committee and Pakistan-China Institute Senator Mushahid Hussain has welcomed Pakistan’s decision not to participate in the ‘Democracy Summit’ hosted by the US being an agenda driven by ideological geopolitics, a throwback to the Cold War era.
“Weaponization of democracy is counterproductive in today’s era of globalization when challenges like coronavirus pandemic and climate change require collective efforts through wider cooperation,” he said while addressing a Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) Webinar on “6th Plenum of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC); What does it mean for China and the World?” under its flagship event series, “Friends of Silk Road (FOSR)”.
The webinar was attended by over 70 participants online, and featured five speeches, including Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman Senate Defence Committee & Pakistan-China Institute, Ms Pang Chunxue, Deputy Head of the Embassy of China, Qasim Khan Suri, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Senator Sherry Rehman, Parliamentary leader of Pakistan Peoples Party in the Senate of Pakistan, Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for Food Security & Research.
The panelists discussed the ‘Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session on November 11, 2021 and its implications for China and the world in a rapidly changing regional and international political scenario’.
Mushahid welcomed Pakistan’s decision not to participate in the US ‘Democracy Summit’ as its agenda was driven by ideological geopolitics, a throwback to the Cold War era. “Weaponization of democracy is counterproductive in globalization when challenges like coronavirus pandemic and climate change require collective efforts through wider cooperation,” he said. Rather than Democracy Summit, the important message is from Harvard University on ‘The Great Tech Rivalry: China vs US’. Quoting from the report, Mushahid said, ‘China has displaced the US as world’s top hi tech manufacturer producing 250 million computers, 25 million automobiles and 1.5 billion smartphones in 2020’.
This technological prowess and progress of China is the real reason driving the West’s new Cold War as they’re falling behind China. The Harvard report further says: ‘China possesses the might, talent and ambition to surpass the US as the world’s leader in AI in the next decade’. The Harvard report also starkly concludes that China is leading in foundational technologies of the 21st Century: Artificial Intelligence, 5G, Biotech, Semi Conductors and Green Energy.
Given this context, and given our national interests, Senator Mushahid said Pakistan is standing on the right side of history and Pakistan-China relations are neither tactical nor transactional nor directed against any other country, rather they are the drivers of a new regional connectivity based on economy, energy and ecology, ports and pipelines, roads and railways, with both protecting each other’s core interests.
Senator Sherry Rehman, Parliamentary leader of Pakistan People’s Party in the Senate and Chairperson Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, felicitated the Communist Party of China on passing the historic resolution which reaffirms the commitment of party leadership to achieve the outlined goals.
She said the world was looking towards China for its pivotal global role and said, ‘Friendship with China unites Pakistani political parties, especially ties with CPC’. She said Chairman Mao inspired the PPP at its formation in 1967, and Prime Minister Bhutto was the architect of Pak-China friendship. Rehman termed CPEC as ‘transformational, an existential opportunity and a hope for the future’.Moreover, she welcomed China’s leadership on Climate Change.
Ms Pang Chunxue, Minister-Counsellor of the Embassy of China, termed the conclusion of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee, a milestone for the CPC. She said the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPC on the Party’s Major Achievements and Historical Experience in a Century of Struggle” passed during the session will further unify the whole party’s thinking, will and action. “Under the leadership of the CPC, China has gone through historical changes, now achieving stability, preserving its sovereignty and promoting prosperity,” she said. She termed the Pakistan-China relationship time tested, unique, all weather and resilient.
Pakistan, she said, will always find China standing shoulder-to-shoulder during its development endeavors. Lastly, she echoed the stance of President Xi Jinping who during the phone call with Prime Minister Imran Khan this October called for strengthening strategic mutual trust, so as to promote the high-quality development of CPEC, and broaden all-round cooperation in every field.
Qasim Khan Suri, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, called on the political parties to deepen strategic communication with China to learn from CPC’s experience of governance. Commenting on CPEC, he said that it has successfully completed its first phase and has now given a new dimension and rejuvenated the deep-rooted bilateral partnership in economy, society, culture, ecology, and governance.
Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for Food Security & Research, said this critical juncture will propel China to achieve new heights and help it in realizing the dream of creating a community with shared destiny for mankind.
Welcoming the 6th Plenum of the 19th Central Committee’s historical resolution, moderator of the seminar Mustafa Hyder Sayed, Executive Director of the Pakistan-China Institute, said the Friends of Silk Road Initiative have emerged as a key platform for bringing political parties, civil society, and key opinion leaders together. Today’s conference, he maintained, demonstrates that Pakistan’s different parties and leaders maintain the consensus to strongly support China and CPEC.
