Uprooting Corruption: Lessons from China
While it may be impossible for Pakistan to adopt China's lawfare model completely- given they have a one-party system, learning from their experience, we can follow a roadmap empowering the state to counter corruption successfully through creating a powerful watchdog called 'Pakistan Financial Crime Monitoring Bureau,' to catch what President Xi Jinping calls "tigers and flies" (influential higher-ups as well as lower rank public servants)
Premier Zhou Enlai: Modern China’s founding leader was a Great Friend of Pakistan
Though several international and Chinese leaders have visited Pakistan since 1950 – but for some reason not fully understood the words “Mao & Zhou Enlai” have become part of Pakistani memories and language. This piece traces the history!
POWERCHINA: Injecting new impetus into building Pak-China community
POWERCHINA, a global leader in the development of clean and low-carbon energy, worked in collaboration with Pakistan to construct the Port Qasim coal-fired power plant. This was among the first batch of implementation projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Meanwhile, POWERCHINA has also invested time and effort in cultivating a partnership and friendship with people of Pakistan.
Why Main Railway Line-1 is Important for Pakistan!
The ML-1 railway line project is one of the biggest projects not only of CPEC Phase-II ($6.8 billion) but of Pakistan’s recent history in terms of logistics and communications. Since the partition of British Indian Empire into India and Pakistan this is the single biggest expansion of railway system.
HBL: Pakistani Bank with a China Vision
HBL has become the first Pakistani bank and one of three banks from South Asia & MENA Region to open branches in China, with permission to trade in local currency, RMB. This represents a 15-year-old dream that began when bank first opened a representative office in Beijing in 2005.
Karakoram Highway: A Dream fifty years ahead of time!
KKH as an idea may have deep roots in the shared history and geography of the region! But when the world’s highest paved road network, sometimes called the 8th wonder of the world, was first conceived between Pakistanis and Chinese in the early 1960’s little did they realize that one day it will become a symbol of the CPEC and BRI. KKH led to FWO, an organization that became the first embodiment of the Pakistan-China working relationship.
Dynamics of the Multifaceted Pakistan-China Relationship
Pakistan's longest serving Ambassador to China traces the roots and looks at the key elements of this extraordinary bond of friendship and cooperation that has invited much envy. While affirming the multi-tiered relationship has taken a quantum leap in the form of CPEC, he explains why imperatives of regional peace and security and congruence of interests steer Pakistan-China relations.
RCETs: Indispensable for Export Led Growth
The decision by the government to withdraw the RCET policy - which has played a vital role in the current year’s export growth, employment, and new investment - will take the sector back onto the historical snake and ladders game that is played in the country. Every time the sector is ready to take off – government changes policies and the sector lands on the proverbial snake and slides back several notches.
Evolving China-Pakistan Relations
Like all successful and happy relationships, as Pakistan celebrates 70 years of relations with China, they still have much to share and cooperate with each other. CPEC has brought a dimension of its own, but in addition, there is much to explore and learn in the socio-economic, cultural and high-tech fields.
China’s Poverty Alleviation Model: A Miracle to Explore
While Pakistan can adopt the Chinese poverty alleviation model, it needs to do so with modifications based on its governance system. The Communist Party of China was a significant factor in China’s economic prosperity due to its long-term, strategic policy-making, but can Pakistan’s diverse political structure embrace a similar challenge and rise to the occasion? Studying the Chinese model is particularly important given Prime Minister Imran Khan’s continual reference to what the Chinese have done and desire to learn from them.
PIA: First non-Communist airline into China
In its relatively short history, Pakistan has had to face many challenges. However, its national airline has always acted as a hand in glove to advance its national interests in foreign lands. From becoming the first non-communist airline to fly into China to facilitating Henry Kissinger’s secret trip, PIA’s role in establishing the foundations for Pak-China ties has been paramount and should not be forgotten.
CPEC’s Role in Skill Development of Pakistan’s Youth
The confluence of a demographic dividend accruing from Pakistan’s large youth bulge and the development of CPEC projects offers Pakistan an opportunity to address the country’s pressing issues of unemployment, poverty, and low productivity provided it realizes the critical importance of vocational training.