by Yasir Habib Khan

ISLAMABAD, Mar. 2 (Gwadar Pro) - Pakistan and China launched celebrations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan with announcement to unleash a series of ceremonies and activities throughout the year of 2021.

In the special attendance of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the launching ceremony was held simultaneously in Beijing and Islamabad. The Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong and CPEC authority chairman were also present on the occasion.

On the occasion, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi showed his immense pleasure to launch together with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishing diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China.

On the auspicious occasion, he revealed that China has all set to dole out another gift of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine to save lives of elderly. Few weeks back, it is pertinent to mention that China had already delivered 0.5 million doses Sinopharm vaccine to Pakistani frontline health workers.

He said that the diplomatic relations were formally established on 21st May 1951 and since then have grown from strength to strength. The past seventy years and our relationship, he said, has turned into an all weather-strategic cooperative partnership which is anchor for peace, stability and development in the region.

"I am proud to say that we were one of the few countries to recognize China which was established after a remarkable and valiant struggle on Oct 1, 1949" he added.

"Today's China has passed through a miraculous phase of economic and social transformation. It has become the second largest economy of the world, the largest trading nation, a leader in AI, and hosts a world-class infrastructure across every nook and corner of a continent-sized country. China experience of poverty alleviation bringing 800 million people out of poverty in three decades has been unparalleled in human history," he added.

He said "we pay tribute to the Chinese leadership which has done an incredible job in changing the lives and destiny of its 1.4 billion people. We believe that President Xi Jinping's leadership at a momentous moment in history has greatly helped Chinese nationals achieve its national aspirations."

"Towering Chinese leaders such as Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai played a crucial role in strengthening our ties. Over the past seven decades we have built out ties around the principles of mutual understanding, mutual support and mutual trust. The multifaceted strategic and political cooperation of the two countries is stronger than ever. The two sides support each other on the issue of their core interest. Pakistan adheres to One China Policy and China has stood by us in supporting our key strategic, economic and developmental priorities".

He said that the two countries have the fine tradition of standing by each other in the hour of need. At the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, Pakistan immediately dispatched essential medical supplies to China to support its fight against the pandemic. Pakistani President Dr Arif Alvi travelled to Beijing in March 2020 to express solidarity with the people and government of China. When the pandemic was spreading in Pakistan, China assisted Pakistan generously. “We are thankful to China for providing us with 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine that helped save the lives of our frontline health workers.”

In recent years, he said, our social and cultural relations have become much stronger. Currently over 28,000 Pakistani students are studying in China benefiting from China advanced educational system, he added.

"We have established several sister provinces and 13 sister cities relationship with China. Seven Pakistan Study center, eleven Urdu language department in various Chinese universities and four Confucius Institute in Pakistan are promoting cultural understanding between the two countries" he added.

He said that Pakistan supports President Xi's visionary BRI that has become a pivot for connectivity and global economic growth. As the flagship project of BRI, he said, CPEC is set to become a high quality demonstration project. There is a complete consensus across the political spectrum in Pakistan on CPEC's indispensability for our national development, he added.

"We hope these activities will inspire the younger generation to understand the vitality and depth of our relationship as well as its historic significance and move it forward with even greater conviction, vigor and determination," he concluded.