ISLAMABAD, Sep 24 (APP): China is willing to collaborate with Pakistan to implement the important outcomes of President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit and advance the joint Action Plan 2025-29 to foster an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future.
Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong in his article following President Zardari’s recent visit to China said “the trip added new chapters to the legendary China-Pakistan friendship, advanced practical bilateral cooperation, and deepened the bond between our two peoples”.
President Asif Ali Zardari was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the 2025 Golden Panda International Cultural Forum, and subsequently paid visits to Sichuan Province, Shanghai Municipality, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, from September 12-21.
This marked President Zardari’s second visit to China following his state visit in February this year, which the Chinese ambassador termed as a “vivid testament to his profound affection for the Chinese people and great importance attached to China-Pakistan relations”.
Ambassador Jiang Zaidong recalled an article penned by President Zardari for China Daily where he regarded China as “my home away from home”.
He said during this journey to his “home away from home”, President Zardari traversed three provincial-level administrative regions, visited four destinations, met with heads of local governments, and engaged with ordinary Chinese citizens.
“This is a journey of civilization and innovation, shaped by mutual commitment,” he said.
The ambassador wrote in length about President Zardari’s diverse interactions at various platforms, calling it of profound importance for the bond between the two countries.
At the opening ceremony of the 2025 Golden Panda International Cultural Forum held in Chengdu, Sichuan, he said, President Zardari delivered a speech, praising the forum for using the universal language of art to bridge divides and connects communities across the globe. He emphasized that this stands as a vivid practice of the Global Civilization Initiative, embodying the concepts of diversity of civilizations, equality among cultures, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural dialogue as a counter to narratives of a clash of civilizations.
“This not only underscores the profound significance of the Golden Panda Forum in fostering mutual learning among world civilizations, but also directly conveys the earnest aspirations of the two peoples to deepen China-Pakistan people-to-people and cultural exchanges,” he said.
He mentioned the heart-warming interactions between the two nations: the film BaTie Girl graced screens in both countries; the Gandhara Art Exhibition made its debut to the Palace Museum in China; Pakistani mangoes became a sensation among Chinese netizens; the “Tea for Harmony” cultural activity won widespread popularity in Pakistan; numerous Chinese universities now offer Urdu programs while a “Study-in-China” fever sweeps through Pakistan’s younger generation; the CPEC Consortium of Universities, boasting over 130 members, was officially established; and First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari had an intimate encounter with giant pandas in Chengdu.
“Through these tangible actions, China and Pakistan are putting into practice the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, promoting exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese civilization and Islamic civilization, and embedding the all-weather friendship between the two countries deeply in the hearts of their peoples,” said Ambassador Jiang.
During his stay in Sichuan, President Zardari took the Fuxing high-speed train from Chengdu to Mianyang, experiencing firsthand the high-quality operation and top-tier services of China’s high-speed rail network. President Zardari and his delegation spoke highly of this “miracle of railway engineering”, lauded China’s strength in scientific and technological innovation, and expressed eager anticipation for China and Pakistan to accelerate the joint construction of the Corridor of Innovation, continuously enriching and expanding the connotation of their all-weather strategic cooperation.
In recent years, Ambassador Jiang mentioned that China-Pakistan cooperation in science and technology had made steady progress: the cultivation of low-erucic acid& low glucosinolates rapeseed (Brassica napus) in Pakistan that yielded high outputs; 1,000 Pakistani agricultural graduates pursued further studies in China; the Orange Line became an iconic landmark in Lahore, the “Garden City”; the first overseas project of the Hualong One nuclear power technology put into operation in Karachi; an agreement on joint selection and training of astronauts signed; and China helped Pakistan successfully launch remote-sensing satellites.
“China stands ready to further align supply and demand with Pakistan, achieve mutual complementarity, and unlock greater potential for the China-Pakistan Corridor of Innovation to elevate its quality and scale,” the ambassador added.
Ambassador Jiang said currently, both China and Pakistan are in a critical phase of development and rejuvenation, and both are dedicated to fulfilling their people’s aspirations for a better life.
“China is willing to further strengthen exchanges on governance experience with Pakistan, draw wisdom from each other’s development journeys, and work together to embark on a new journey toward modernization,” he said.
He mentioned President Zardari’s special trip to Shanghai Electric Group where he witnessed the signing of cooperation documents.
He said Shanghai Electric’s investment and operation of the Thar Engro Coal Power Project have not only helped Pakistan leverage its own resource endowments to enhance energy security, but also made positive contributions to local employment and income growth, especially for women.
He said the Chinese financial institutions such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange have acquired stakes in the Pakistan Stock Exchange, deepening financial cooperation between the two countries. Since becoming sister cities in 1984, Shanghai and Karachi have continuously elevated the level of exchanges and cooperation.
Ambassador Jiang vowed China’s readiness to work with Pakistan to effectively implement the consensuses reached by the two countries’ leaders, give full play to the comprehensive effects of the CPEC, focus on cooperation in the three key areas of industry, agriculture, and mining, expand cooperation in emerging fields, deepen local and cultural exchanges, and inject new impetus into the growth of bilateral cooperation.
He said President Zardari’s visit to Xinjiang coincided with the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region where he toured Urumqi’s Urban Operations and Management Center, seeing firsthand how information technology and smart solutions better serve society and benefit the people.
The ambassador quoted President Zardari’s sentiments about visiting Xinjiang as “Very pleased to see the tremendous development achievements here. I will encourage more people from all walks of life in Pakistan to visit Xinjiang, and continue to deepen and expand the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan.”
“These words, coming from an old friend of the Chinese people who has seen and compared Xinjiang’s past and present, represent a high recognition of Xinjiang’s economic and social development achievements,” he added.
Ambassador Jiang said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron-clad friends. The time-honored friendship is a precious asset of the two countries and their peoples.
“From the hometown of giant pandas to the banks of the Huangpu River, from the ‘Red Site’ of the CPC’s founding to the beautiful land of Xinjiang, President Zardari’s journey across mountains and seas to his ‘home away from home’ has once again added a new chapter to the iron-clad friendship between China and Pakistan,” he said.