From Prof. Dr. He Hongmei
In Urdu, there is a widely circulated phrase— “Chin-Pak Dosti Zindabad,” meaning “Long live China–Pakistan friendship.” This expression vividly reflects the sincerest sentiments of the Pakistani people toward the enduring bond between the two countries. This friendship, forged over decades of trials and refinement, is not only manifested in major geopolitical strategic cooperation, but is also deeply embedded in the daily lives of ordinary people in Pakistan.
Today, as the world is confronted with sluggish economic recovery and increasingly severe climate challenges, China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI), like a gentle spring rain, is taking root across Pakistani soil and yielding tangible and fruitful outcomes.
I. Focusing on Green Development: From Gwadar’s Harbor to Livelihoods Under the Sun
As a flagship project of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Gwadar Port has become a core engine driving Pakistan’s opening-up and regional connectivity. A key question in large-scale infrastructure development is how to translate growth dividends into tangible benefits for local communities. In this regard, the Global Development Initiative, guided by a people-centered and green development philosophy, offers a practical and viable solution.
Gwadar, far from Pakistan’s national power grid, has long suffered from chronic electricity shortages in coastal fishing villages, severely constraining livelihoods, education, and local industries. Through the climate change and green development cooperation mechanisms under the Global Development Initiative, household solar energy livelihood projects have been implemented in Gwadar, providing sustainable clean energy to local communities.
China has delivered solar photovoltaic systems to local residents in multiple batches. Clean electricity has illuminated rural schools and enabled countless fishing households to access stable power supply for the first time, effectively ending the hardship of nighttime power scarcity and significantly improving daily living conditions. From large-scale CPEC port infrastructure to the widespread adoption of inclusive clean energy under the Global Development Initiative, green energy has entered ordinary households, vividly illustrating the principle of harmony between humanity and nature taking root in Pakistan.
II. Safeguarding Food Security: Writing “Harvests” Across Pakistan’s Fields
Pakistan has a strong agricultural foundation, with more than half of its population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods. At present, amid geopolitical instability and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, global food security is under growing pressure.
The Global Development Initiative consistently focuses on the practical needs of developing countries and upholds the principle that no country and no one should be left behind in development. As the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor enters a new stage of high-quality development, agricultural cooperation has been prioritized.
Chinese hybrid rice varieties and cultivation technologies have been promoted in pilot and demonstration areas in Sindh and Punjab, significantly enhancing regional grain productivity. The China–Pakistan red chili contract farming project represents a typical practical cooperation example under the GDI framework. Chinese agricultural experts work directly in the fields, providing training on salt-tolerant and heat-resistant cultivation techniques.
This form of “teaching people how to fish” through technological empowerment has not only improved Pakistan’s food self-sufficiency but has also enabled tens of thousands of farmers to achieve tangible poverty reduction through agricultural development, safeguarding Pakistan’s “food basket” with each seed planted.
III. Driving Digital Innovation: From the “Hand-stitched Football Town” to the Global Marketplace
Pakistan’s large youth population is a key foundation for its future development. How can demographic potential be transformed into development momentum? The Global Development Initiative offers a digital-age answer.
In recent years, tens of thousands of Pakistani youth have received training in cross-border e-commerce, information technology, and modern vocational skills through China–Pakistan cooperation programs. From technical institutes in Lahore to entrepreneurial hubs in Islamabad, local youth are leveraging China’s development experience and digital platforms to export locally produced goods—such as Sialkot footballs and traditional handicrafts—to global markets.
Skills empowerment has not only generated income and employment opportunities, but has also given young people the confidence to establish themselves in the digital economy and reshape their development trajectories.
IV. Commitment to Action-Oriented Development: Making Development Benefits Truly Inclusive
Across international forums, debates on development and aid remain ongoing, and some cooperation frameworks are accompanied by political conditions. In contrast, the Global Development Initiative has been steadily implemented in Pakistan.
Globally, China has advanced over 1,800 practical cooperation projects under the initiative and mobilized more than 23 billion US dollars in development funding through various channels. In Pakistan, these macro-level figures have been transformed into tangible improvements in people’s livelihoods.
The initiative does not provoke geopolitical confrontation or remain at the level of rhetoric. Instead, it aligns closely with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and channels resources into the most urgently needed areas in developing countries.
V. A Shared Future of a Community of Common Destiny
From the grand blueprint of the Belt and Road Initiative to the formation of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor framework, and further to the practical implementation of the Global Development Initiative, China–Pakistan cooperation has always been grounded in practice rather than abstract concepts.
The fruits of cooperation are reflected in rising power stations, the bright lights of Gwadar Port, contiguous fertile fields in Punjab, and the confident and energetic faces of Pakistani youth.
In this shared journey of development, the “ironclad” friendship between China and Pakistan is continuously reaffirmed through tangible achievements. Together, the two countries are painting a future characterized by inclusiveness, shared prosperity, and vibrant development.
– The is also Author Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, China
