The three-day visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to Pakistan has been a uniting force in this land of political diversity - be it premised on ethnic, sectarian or institutional divide. The leadership of all major political parties as well as the country's three defence chiefs stood together to welcome a tried, trusted and steadfast friend of Pakistan, a definition that cannot be applied to any other country.
Irrespective of what form of government this hapless country has been subjected to, no Chinese government has ever wavered from its friendship with the people of Pakistan. Additionally Wen Jiabao did not admonish or advise the government on what it must do, at least publicly, in marked contrast to senior members of the Obama administration including President Obama himself; he instead exhorted the international community not to link the war against terror to any one religion and to acknowledge Pakistan's sacrifices in this war. Premier Wen described the two countries as "brothers forever", a perfectly credible statement and reconfirmed that "China would firmly support Pakistan in its efforts to safeguard its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity."
What was a source of considerable satisfaction to the people of this country, a satisfaction denied by the leadership of countries actively seeking our military's engagement to fight the war on terror at considerable human and monetary cost to us, was his visit to India as well as Pakistan with Pakistan clearly viewed as the more cherished partner. This is in spite of the obvious fact (made obvious by the leadership of Western countries actively engaged in wooing the Indians at our cost) that Western powers are focused on India's ability to jumpstart their recession-ridden economies by increasing imports. This did not imply that the Chinese premier did not sign economic deals with the Indians that would benefit the Chinese people. He did, but his focus was on a balanced foreign policy with respect to South Asia and for that the people of this country are grateful. And unlike other leaders the Chinese premier referred to Indo-Pak relations delicately and diplomatically: "You say in Pakistan a good neighbour is a blessing and we in China say a close neighbour means more than a distant relative...I express my sincere hope that the people of our region would enjoy a lasting peace and a prosperous future."
Numerous deals were signed between the Chinese and Pakistani governments during this historic visit. The total gross worth of these deals is estimated at 35 billion dollars, a little more than double the deals the Chinese signed with the Indian government (16 billion dollars) last week. Contrast this with Barack Obama's gains who took an enormous trade delegation to India and trumpeted success in working out trade deals worth an estimated $10 billion. The contrast in the performance of the two leaders is stark.
There are concerns in Pakistan about our absorption capacity or whether we can actually translate the 35 billion dollar deals into reality. That onus must rest with the government and one can only hope that effective reforms are undertaken promptly and the single most major impediment to growth in productivity, our deficient energy sector, becomes the focus of attention in terms of formulating and implementing a long-term strategy designed, (in contrast to the short-term controversial rental power projects) to offer energy at rates that are competitive with our competitors in the international market.
That the Chinese are genuinely engaged in extending support to this sector, unlike our other partners particularly the United States, is amply borne by the fact that the two countries agreed to: (i) further intensify co-operation in energy, (ii) upgrade Karakoram Highway that would allow Pakistan to import energy not through restive Afghanistan (as envisaged by the US-sponsored Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline) but directly from China which already has deals in place to import energy from the energy surplus Central Asian Republics, and (iii) establish an energy co-operation mechanism that would propel bilateral co-operation in conventional energy, renewable energy and civil nuclear energy.
Also noteworthy was the agreement to enhance co-operation in the financial sector as well as establish currency swap arrangements. Wen elaborated that the "Industrial and Commerce Bank of China has been granted permission to open branches in Islamabad and Karachi and China is also willing to ink a currency swap deal with Pakistan." In addition the Chinese premier noted that his country would welcome Pakistan's efforts to exploit the preferential Free Trade Agreement and committed to continuing supporting Pakistan in bilateral trade, investment, energy, transport, infrastructure and other areas. One other area is education, the first time that China has expressed an interest in engagement in this sector. To conclude the Chinese Premier's visit has brought a ray of hope to this country which felt isolated in spite of our engagement in the war on terror.