Prime Minister Imran Khan started his four-day visit to China on February 3, a day before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, which a number of world leaders were attending. Prior to this visit, the premier had ordered removal of red tape, hindering Chinese investment in Pakistan. The PM concluded his visit with a meeting with President XI Jinping. At the moot, Imran Khan welcomed increased Chinese investment for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. Bol News seeks views of former ambassadors as to how successful the visit was in removing the impression that the PTI government is neglecting the multi-billion dollar project for regional connectivity.

Zafar Hilaly

Former ambassador

he Prime Minister’s visit was successful in all respects and will yield positive results and strengthen the already all-weather friendship between Pakistan and China.

On the political front we have shared our point-of-view on Kashmir and Afghanistan with China, while listening to their position on Ukraine, Taiwan and issues Beijing is facing in the South China Sea. There was complete unanimity of views between the two sides on all the issues and this depicted the strength and depth of the relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Then, there is an economic side of the visit and it was agreed between the two sides to expedite work on the projects in the second phase of the CPEC. Pakistan has also sought financial support from China and the response from the Chinese leadership was quite positive. Hopefully, the requirement of $5 billion sought by Pakistan would be met during the next visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China in the next couple of months.

China is forthcoming to extend all sorts of support, including economic assistance. I believe that the relations between the two sides will only strengthen in the days to come.

No doubt big changes are taking place in the region and around the world. Pakistan is now focusing on its relations with neighbouring China (much more than the past), and obviously we have to give preference to our relations with our immediate neighbours than the US which is seven seas away from us.

Our relations with the US are undoubtedly under strain right now. The US has always ditched us in the time of need and always given preference to India over Pakistan. Though the US gave us substantial military support in the past, when we were at war with India it had put an embargo on Pakistan and barred our Army from using these weapons against India. The only issue on which the US is aligned with Pakistan is Afghanistan, while on the rest of the issues India remains Washington’s preferential partner.

Ayaz Wazir

Former ambassador

o far, we are receiving positive vibes through the media about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China. The meetings between the Chinese and Pakistani leadership remained positive and productive. Both sides have renewed their pledge to take further the strategic and economic relations to new heights which augurs well for us.

Some reservations of China regarding CPEC were addressed at the highest level by the Prime Minister and the coming months will likely see acceleration in the work on CPEC-related projects, which slowed down a little in the recent past.

Now with the start of the second phase of CPEC, the overall economic activity would get a boost, benefiting the people of Pakistan.

I see no negative impact of the Prime Minister’s visit on the Pakistan-US relations as Washington has its own interests, while Islamabad has to protect and advance its own interests. So, we should not see our relations with the US using the Chinese lens, or our relations with China through the US lens. We should keep our relations separately with both these countries and not let any of the two influence our relations with the other.

Participation of Pakistan in the Winter Olympics in China is a positive move and it would further cement the already proverbial strong relations between the two neighbouring countries.

America is a very powerful country and an old strategic partner of Pakistan. We have some issues with the United States currently, but need to maintain cordial relations with Washington. At the same time, the United States also wants to improve relations with Pakistan. That’s the reason when the State Department spokesman was asked about Pakistan’s participation in the Winter Olympics in China when Washington had boycotted it, he promptly came up with the response that ‘Pakistan will remain our strategic partner’ to dispel the impression of coldness in relations between the two counties.

Ghalib Iqbal

Former ambassador

f I have to pick the most successful visit of our dignitaries abroad, I think this visit by Prime Minister Imran Khan to China is the most successful one and will set the course for formation of new alliances and grouping in the region.

Pakistan, China, Russia and to some extent Iran are converging at some common ground and could form a new alliance in the future. Prime Minister Imran Khan will be visiting Moscow later this month and afterward will be visiting China again and then a first step toward formation of a new alliance will be completed.

This visit had both strategic and economic significance since both Pakistan and China share common views on all the regional as well as global issues. On the economic side, the two countries agreed to enhance bilateral trade with the commitment to CPEC and completion of its projects at a fast pace.

Keeping in view our relations with China, we have to attend the Winter Olympic in China, evn though the United States and some other Western countries boycott it. However, this won’t affect us because America knows the nature and depth of Sino-Pak relations and the economic and strategic stakes of Pakistan with China.

China and Pakistan have agreed to gear up work on the second phase of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will bring economic prosperity in Pakistan. The mass-scale industrialization in the economic zones across the country will generate jobs and serve as the engine of an economic turnaround.

Imran Khan’s visit will definitely be giving impetus to the CPEC related projects in Pakistan and there is unanimity of views between the two sides to accomplish its second phase on a fast track.

Although the US State Department spokesperson said after PM Imran’s visit to China that Pakistan would remain the strategic partner of the US, this needed to be seen carefully.

Jalil Abbas Jilani

Former Ambassador

t is an important and successful visit because due to the Covid-19 the top-level contacts between Pakistani and Chinese leadership remained suspended for a couple of years contrary to the routine practice of such contacts every three to four months.

The contents of the joint statement issued at the conclusion of the visit and the meeting of the Prime Minister with the Chinese top leadership were positive and encouraging as it covered both strategic and economic relations between the two states.

The joint statement also hinted at inclusion of other sectors, including agriculture in CPEC. Some $26 billion projects under the first phase of over $ 60 billion CPEC projects have been completed and both the countries have renewed their commitment to progressively move forward on the implementation of the second phase of CPEC.

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s meeting with the Chinese businessmen also remained fruitful and a number of Chinese companies have shown interest to invest in Pakistan. In this connection, a number of MoUs were also signed between the two sides.

Pakistan wants good relations with both China and the United States. In the past, we had successfully maintained good relations with both without using one country against the other.

China has never let its relations with the United States influence or affect its relations with Pakistan and so did Pakistan which has always kept the relations with both China and America in separate compartments. Therefore, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China against the backdrop of a boycott of Winter Olympics by the officials of the US and some other western countries would have no bearing on US-Pakistan relations.

I think China also wants Pakistan to maintain relations with the United States as in the past Islamabad had played a role in normalizing the China-US relations. I hope that Pakistan will be able to maintain good relations with both China and the United States as it had managed them in the past.