Chinese President Xi Jinping has concluded his two-day visit to Pakistan, the first stop of his overseas trip this year. During the visit, the two countries signed deals worth $46 billion in infrastructure, energy, agriculture, trade and finance and upgraded the bilateral ties to a new high.

As the leaders of both sides have emphasized, China and Pakistan are iron brothers and all-weather strategic partners.

The two countries have mutually supported and aided each other in politics, security, strategy and economy and they have carried out booming cultural communications.

There is no secret that Pakistan played a crucial role in arranging the icebreaking visit of former US president Richard Nixon to China in the 1970s. Many Chinese still remembered Pakistan’s donation of more than 20,000 tents to China during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The mutual support China and Pakistan have had over the past half century, their mutual trust and deep affections are the cornerstone to further cement and expand the bilateral ties.

Since Xi took office, the Chinese leadership has put forwarded a series of cooperative initiatives such as the construction of a community of common destiny between China and its neighborhood, and the “One Belt and One Road” initiative, which have been warmly responded by Pakistan.

Plagued by over a decade of domestic turbulence after the 9/11 attacks and a stagnant economy, Islamabad is in dire need of foreign investments to address the conundrums of energy shortages and poor infrastructure with the hope of boosting the economy.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the other cooperative programs the two countries have been advancing are an effective solution to these problems facing Pakistan. Besides, they will also generate considerable job opportunities for local Pakistanis. With human and natural resources and the capital and technological support of China, the Pakistani economy is bound to boom.

As a flagship project of the “One Belt and One Road” initiative, the CPEC has won high-level support from the Pakistani government and the locals and has been put under smooth implementation.

By integrating China with Central Asia and South Asia and reaching the Middle East through the Gwadar Port, the corridor is not only an economic initiative but also a strategic one. It’s of great significance for China’s energetic security and Pakistan’s strategic security. It is genuine win-win cooperation and also symbolizes that strategic cooperation and economic cooperation now have been on an equal footing in bilateral relations.

China and Pakistan have become a community of common destiny. Nonetheless, there are challenges ahead. Terrorism and the Balochistan rebels are posing threats to the construction of the economic corridor. Beijing hopes that Islamabad could adopt effective measures to stabilize the domestic situation. It also hopes that the bilateral cooperation could help create favorable conditions for Pakistan to eradicate terrorism and internal rebels.

Meanwhile, China wants to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan to jointly safeguard the stability of Afghanistan, which is important to the smooth implementation of the “One Belt and One Road” project and the stability of Xinjiang.

With enormous funds and a large number of projects flooding Pakistan, all Pakistani provinces have been striving for competing for Chinese projects. Chinese companies should ensure their investment legitimate and transparent and make the locals real beneficiaries of the projects. They should actively communicate with the local people, political parties, tribes and media.

The China-Pakistan friendship is built on a solid foundation and needs to be consolidated through the younger generations. Influenced by Western media, some young Pakistanis have little understanding about China. Therefore, both sides in the future should pay attention to enhancing the people-to-people exchange among the younger generations.

Source of documents：globaltimes.cn