DM Monitoring
ISLAMABAD: Leaders, diplomats, parliamentarians, students and scholars gathered at the Pakistan-China Dialogue hosted by Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) under “Friends of Silk Road” auspices, focused on “Strengthening Mutual Understanding Between Pakistan and China and Building a Community with a Shared Future for Neighbouring Countries.”
Speakers celebrated the enduring “Iron Brothers” partnership, championed a multipolar order based on the UN Charter and highlighted President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a catalyst for peace, prosperity and regional connectivity.
The Dialogue was organized by Pakistan-China Institute together with a visiting high-level 5-man delegation from the Communist Party of China’s International Department (IDCPC) led by IDCPC Spokesperson & Chief of Information, Ambassador Hu Zhaoming.
Mustafa Hyder Sayed, PCI Executive Director and Dialogue Moderator, opened the proceedings by noting that the historic Silk Road friendship between Pakistan and China “has never been transactional or tactical; rather, it is rooted in shared history, trust and a common commitment to uplift the wider neighborhood.”
He framed the Dialogue as part of PCI’s broader effort to amplify voices from Asia and the Global South, given the changing global scenario. Pointing to escalating Cold War rhetoric, he condemned the newly created US Congress’s “Countering PRC Influence Fund,” which authorizes US $325 million per year from 2023 to 2027 to “counter the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party and the Government of the People’s Republic of China” worldwide.
Mustafa called the measure “a Cold-War-era throwback that diverts resources from development and dialogue, precisely the opposite of what our region needs.”
Delivering the Keynote Address, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of PCI, observed that the “global balance of economic and political power is shifting from West to East, heralding the Asian Century.” He lauded China’s “peaceful rise as a source of strength for developing nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America” and thanked Beijing for its unwavering support of Pakistan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, especially last month in the face of Indian aggression.
