There is a new government in Pakistan where Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken the oath along with his cabinet. Now Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz is ruling the government along with the coalition partners from Pakistan People’s Party and others. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the new foreign minister of Pakistan wherein the minister of State for foreign affairs is Hina Rabbani Khar from Pakistan People’s Party. This reflects a new dimension in Pakistan’s foreign policy and engagement approach towards regional and global powers. What has always remained constant in these changes over the past more than seven decades has been Pakistan’s iconic and deep-rooted relations with China. 

The diplomatic relationship between Pakistan and China has been reliable, steady, and grown with time over all these years. The relationship has achieved the level of trust that no force on earth can undone. Since China believes in the non-interfere in domestic affairs of other states including Pakistan, it tends to focus on issues of common concerns and mutual benefit. CPEC remains the cornerstone of the Pak-China relationship in 21st-century relationships making it transform the goodwill of governments into people-to-people strong economic and cooperation ties. 

As an important corridor of BRI, CPEC has played a significant role in promoting Chinese economic global presence. The CPEC is considered as the crown of BRI. CPEC is also passing through its second important phase as it is building an industrial and agriculture base for Pakistan apart from socio-economic development projects. 

It is important to note that when CPEC was started, the incumbent government was in power and welcomed President Xi Jinping in his historic visit to Islamabad in 2015 at the inception of CPEC and agreements.  This was led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, elder brother of incumbent PM Shahbaz Sharif. The PMLN-led government attaches value to the relationship with China and believes in infrastructure development such as Metro Bus and Orange Line Train in Lahore. In the same manner, PM Shahbaz Sharif would continue to support Chinese development goals. Chinese Foreign Minister sends a congratulatory note to a new Prime Minister after his election in the parliament. 

PM Shahbaz Sharif is the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan who is a seasoned politician and brother of Nawaz Sharif, former three times PM of Pakistan. PM Shahbaz is in politics for three decades and has ruled the largest Punjab province of Pakistan thrice and exercised impressive governance and administrative practices for the public good. When Imran Khan became a PM in 2018, he became the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament being the leader of the second-largest political party in Parliament. The core focus of his development agenda is infrastructure development, road connectivity, mega social projects, transportation, health, and education. 

The previous government of PMLN did work with Chinese authorities very closely, especially on the energy projects which filled the power shortage gap and generated surplus energy. Some of the major power projects included the Thar coal power project, the Sahiwal coal power project, two coal power projects at Port Qasim, the hydroelectric power plant at Thatta, one solar power plant, and near completion of Chashma power production units are a few landmark power projects authorized by PMLN. 

There could be more reasons for the consistent cooperation between both governments. During the last tenure of Parliament, the government of PM Nawaz Sharif also ended prematurely but the succeeding PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi continued to closely cooperate with China. It reflects the strong bond between two brotherly nations and a rock-solid bilateral partnership. When Shahbaz Sharif took office, he praised Pakistani relations with China, expressed satisfaction with the pace of projects, and ordered a few projects to expedite the completion such as Metro Bus Service Islamabad. He visited the Diamer Basha Dam project, a project initiated under the previous PMLN government, to witness the development of the dam and underscored its benefits to the national economy. The huge capacity of the dam not only helps with water storage but also for power generation, irrigation and agriculture. 

Pakistani ambassador to China gave an interview to Global Times in which he reaffirms that Pakistan’s relations with China are state-to-state as brotherly nations and unlikely to be affected by the change of government in Islamabad. It is because all the political parties have built a consensus to support the CPEC and keep China a close strategic partner, thus, whichever party comes into power in Pakistan, is likely to be cooperative with China due to the high stakes of the bilateral relationship. 

PM Shahbaz is cognizant of China’s rapid socio-economic development and his pace of work is sarcastically called ‘Shahbaz Speed’. He gets his inspiration from Chinese partners because he has closely worked with Chinese authorities during his latest term as Chief Minister in Punjab. Pakistan and China worked together on a number of projects such as the Orange Line Bus in Lahore, the Coal power plant in Sahiwal, the solar power plant in Bahawalpur, and the construction of the M3 motorway during his government in the Punjab province. He also took a keen interest in procuring the land for Special Economic Zones in Punjab to materialize the full potential of CPEC. 

In this manner, a new government in Pakistan is not alien to the Chinese as both have worked close enough to understand the sensitivities. PM Shahbaz Sharif has closely worked with China and is likely to continue his pace of work with the Chinese government and companies on the second phase of CPEC. The development and operationalization of the second phase should be completed timely to reap its full of socio-economic benefits.

(The author is the founder of Friends of BRI Forum.)

Disclaimer: opinions expressed during this piece are solely those of the author himself and do not necessarily represent those of "In Zhejiang" Global Communication Network.

Editor: Ye Ke