Pakistan and China have experienced close and friendly relations since establishing diplomatic ties in May 1951. Pakistan was one of the first countries that recognise the People’s Republic of China. Over the years, the relationship has flourished into an All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership. Pakistan considers China as one of its closest friends and partner, and China considers Pakistan as its sincere development partner.
Economically, China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner and a major investor, especially in the infrastructure and energy sector. In 2018, bilateral trade between the two countries reached USD 18 billion. With the official launch of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the bilateral relationship has been elevated to a higher level. Under the umbrella of CPEC, China has assisted Pakistan with various development projects. The projects include the development of industrial parks, special economic zones, agriculture technology, tourism, and many more.
Currently, China has decided to assist development in Pakistan by initiating the China-Pakistan small hydropower cooperation. The project aims to promote green development in Pakistan. In addition, the development of small-scale hydropower will solve the problem of local residents’ electricity consumption and help develop small local industries, increase local taxes after being incorporated into the national power grid, and regulate the local ecological climate.
Moreover, there is a lot of room for cooperation between China and Pakistan in the field of renewable energy, including hydropower, such as small hydropower development in the northern mountains, urban waste power generation, solar power generation, hydrogen energy, air storage, etc.
China has been a longstanding development partner of Pakistan that has contributed to deepening its cooperation in industrial and other areas to boost the driving force for Pakistan’s economic development and resilience. Over the years, the Pak-China friendship has flourished from strength to strength and remained unaffected by regional and global environmental changes.
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