During his recent visit to China, Prime Minister Imran Khan held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders exchanged views on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. Leaders of the two countries vow to maintain close high-level exchanges, step up strategic communication and coordinate positions on major issues in a timely fashion. The two sides should adopt a high standard, build and effectively run the existing energy projects, transport infrastructure, industrial parks and projects concerning people's livelihoods, and make the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a model for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative and beef up communication and cooperation within the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other multilateral mechanisms so as to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.
Now, the scale of China's overseas investment has been continually expanding. More and more Chinese enterprises and funds will invest in the Pakistani market.
With the constant progress of the construction of the CPEC, economic cooperation between China and Pakistan is getting closer. Now, I deeply feel that the interests, development and destiny of China and Pakistan are increasingly integrated. China is ready to work with Pakistan to forge a closer China-Pakistan community of shared future in the new era.
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the 3,000-kilometer-long corridor starts from China's Kashi and ends at Pakistan's Gwadar, and connects the Silk Road Economic Belt in the north and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in the south. It is a trade network of highways, railways, pipelines and optical cables, and a flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The visits of President Xi Jinping to India and Nepal produced fruitful outcomes. Xi's second informal summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only showcased their camaraderie but also their shared commitment to improving bilateral relations. China and India, both as developing countries and emerging economies, are the only two major countries in the world with a population of more than 1 billion. China and India should strengthen coordination within the framework of multilateral mechanisms, including the G20, the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the China-Russia-India cooperation, and need to explore the gradual expansion of the "China-India Plus" cooperation to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa, create a more unobstructed regional connectivity network, and strike the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement as early as possible. China and Nepal agreed to upgrade their relations to a Strategic Partnership of Cooperation Featuring Ever-lasting Friendship for Development and Prosperity. In my point of view, such cooperation should at first be extended to Pakistan.
The Chinese side is paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir and has reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements. China opposes any unilateral actions that complicate the situation.
A peaceful, stable, cooperative and prosperous South Asia is in common interest of all parties. India and Pakistan need to settle the disputes and issues in the region through dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect. I feel that development might be the final way to get Kashmir problem solved.
Cheng Xizhong, special commentator of China Economic Net, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, senior fellow of the Charhar Institute, former Defense Attache in South Asian countries, former UN Senior Military Observer
