Illustration: Liu Rui
Early this month Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari visited Urumqi to attend the launch of the China-Eurasia Expo 2011. This Expo will build a bridge between China, West Asia and Europe. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is already a bridge between Pakistan and China.
Pakistan and China both aspire to enhance connectivity between them. They will achieve this objective by upgrading the Karakoram Highway, building a 411-mile-long railroad from Pakistani town of Havelian to Khunjerab Pass, located on the Sino-Pakistani border, install a fiber optic link across the border, and plan the laying of oil and gas pipelines that can originate from the Gulf and end up in China’s western region. These objectives are daunting. But the close ties between Pakistan and China, the resilience of our two peoples, and the ingenuity of our professionals give us strong hope that we can achieve them.
China’s economy is fast integrating with the Western Asian and European economies. For China, trade routed via Urumqi, through Khunjerab and Gwadar and destined for Dubai and London, can save more than 5,000 miles and several days of transit time. Right now the bulk of the Chinese trade with the Middle East has to pass through the Indian Ocean and the chokepoint of the Malacca Straits. The distance from Dubai to Shanghai is 9,000 miles but from Dubai to Khunjerab is only 3,300 miles. The advantage is evident.
China is reviving the ancient Silk Road. Several criss-crossing modern silk routes will pass through Pakistan. Pakistan’s unique location connects China with South and Southwest Asia as well as the Arabian Sea and the Middle East. It also constitutes an important artery to Central Asia.
Xinjiang and the northern provinces of Pakistan will form the central plank in the emerging architecture for new silk routes.
The Chinese government is implementing its strategy of developing its western region. The plan is to emulate the models of the eastern regions, leapfrog development in the western provinces, including Xinjiang, and bring them on par with the developed parts of China. Through the system of “matching assistance,” rich provinces and municipalities are diverting hundreds of billions of dollars to stimulate growth and development in the western provinces.
The Pakistani territories Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan border the Kashgar prefecture. Historically, traders from all parts of Pakistan have come to Kashgar for various transactions. Every year, Pakistan traders and trade officials form the biggest delegation to the Central and South Asia Commodity Fair.
In Xinjiang, China is developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Kashgar and Khorgos. Pakistan has a special interest in Kashgar. As the Kashgar Prefecture uses its SEZs as a spring-board for fast development to catch up with the prosperous East of China, Pakistan will be keen to participate in this process.
Our idea is that we should further extend this concept and establish a trans-border economic zone on both sides of Pakistan and China by establishing manufacturing hubs, trade houses, and clearing houses. This experiment is bound to succeed because of the strong bonds between Pakistan and China.
Over time we will be a little more ambitious and try to explore a trans-regional economic zone encompassing China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. This kind of integrative economic networking will fit well into the agenda of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Our finance and banking institutions will support this endeavor. Pakistan and China have already founded a Joint Investment Company (JIC) with the help of China Development Bank. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has opened branches in Islamabad and Karachi.
China has allowed use of the yuan in cross-border trade settlement. Xinjiang alone has contributed 18.9 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) to cross-border trade settlement. But this is just the beginning. Pakistan and China are also considering a currency swap arrangement. Once operational this arrangement will underpin and enhance connectivity between our two countries.
Social stability and ethnic harmony are essential for realizing these dreams. Pakistan and China have vowed to oppose and defeat the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism, and extremism. Our joint efforts in this regard have been productive and successful.
But we cannot lower our guard. We cannot allow the evil three forces to undermine the vision of our two peoples to move swiftly toward a stable, cohesive, interdependent and prosperous neighborhood. We have the political will and the support of the masses to make this happen. Nothing should be allowed to stand in our way.
The author is Ambassador of Pakistan to China. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn