Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif delivers a speech at a reception in Beijing on May 25, 2026, to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. Photo: Feng Fan/GT

In the summer of 2014, I traveled to Pakistan as part of a media delegation invited by the Pakistani Embassy in China. When I came back, I wrote on my WeChat Moments: "I miss the warm and kind people there." Those words captured my genuine, unreserved impression of the country.

In Pakistan, young girls in public squares eagerly walked up to us, struck up conversations and asked for photos. Elderly locals sitting casually along the streets greeted us with gentle, heartfelt smiles. Their down-to-earth warmth instantly made me feel how welcome and familiar we were to them.

Twelve years later, that same sense of closeness struck me even more profoundly at the reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations, held not long ago in Beijing. It reminded me of something I have long believed: Sincere interactions among ordinary people breathe life into bilateral friendship, and form the enduring bedrock of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

The reception was thoughtfully arranged to bring guests from both sides closer together, with Chinese and Pakistani attendees seated alternately. Even though we had just met, we talked like old friends — no distance, no formality, just easy conversation.

On stage, vocalists from China and Pakistan sang each other country's songs. Off stage, we decoded lyrical meanings, shared stories behind the music and laughed together over shared tastes. As upbeat melodies filled the hall, guests swayed to the rhythm, immersed in the cheerful bond forged through music.

At dinner, Chinese and Pakistani dishes were served side by side. "You're really good with chopsticks!" I said to a Pakistani TV journalist next to me, as he neatly picked up a piece of sweet lotus root with glutinous rice. He smiled, a little proud. "We have many Chinese restaurants in Pakistan. I eat there often."

He wasn't even based in China — he had only come to cover the Pakistani prime minister's official visit. But Chinese food had already brought him closer to this country.

These small, genuine connections are not by accident. They are the result of 75 years of friendship between the two countries. 

Over the past seven and a half decades, China-Pakistan relations have blossomed into an all-weather friendship often described as higher than mountains, deeper than oceans, stronger than steel and sweeter than honey. And it's true: Bolstered by strategic mutual trust at the leadership level and practical cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the two nations have stood side by side in times of crisis and forged ahead together on the path of development. Through all the changes in the world, this friendship has stayed firm.

In his speech at the anniversary reception, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recalled China's quick help during Pakistan's serious floods in 2010. He used that story to illustrate the deep-rooted nature of the friendship. "I can quote many more such inspiring episodes throughout this great journey of friendship between our two nations," he said. 

Those stories are indeed everywhere.

Ali Ahmed, an elderly Pakistani man, has taken care of the Chinese Martyrs Cemetery for almost 50 years, honoring the 88 Chinese engineers and workers who died building the Karakoram Highway. 

When a catastrophic earthquake struck Wenchuan in Southwest China in 2008, Pakistan mobilized all its military transport aircraft to dispatch its entire strategic reserve of tents to support relief efforts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, China delivered batches of vaccines and medical supplies to safeguard Pakistani lives.

Beyond major emergencies, cross-border student exchanges, joint journalistic reporting and frequent cultural tours keep people-to-people ties thriving. Every thoughtful gesture and face-to-face dialogue keep China-Pakistan friendship alive and vibrant.

Friendship, which derives from close contact between the people, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. High-level exchanges shape the direction. Cooperation projects build the structure. Yet it is grassroots exchanges that serve as the lifeblood, infusing the bilateral bond with warmth, dynamism and lasting continuity.

A spontaneous street-side smile, mutual understanding over a shared meal, collective joy in music, and decades-long devotion to remembering shared sacrifices — these seemingly modest moments are like living cells, combining to power the China‑Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

The phrase "iron brothers" is not just a saying. It is how people truly feel. This 75-year friendship is not merely a chapter in history. It is a way of treating each other that passes from one generation to the next.

As we move forward, these human connections will remain a perpetual driving force behind bilateral ties. From warm street-level encounters across Pakistan in 2014 to the joyful Beijing anniversary gathering in 2026, time moves forward, yet the mutual sincerity and goodwill between the two peoples never fades.

"The tree of Pakistan-China friendship has deep roots. It is very strong, has given shade and borne sweet fruit," Prime Minister Sharif said at the reception. "It is now our shared responsibility to nurture new branches so that future generations inherit a relationship even stronger than was envisioned by our forefathers."

Helping this friendship grow is not just a mission. It is what people on both sides hope for.

The author is a commentator with the Global Times. The article is originally published on Pakistan Economic Net. yujincui@globaltimes.com.cn