Wang Mangmang and Zhong Shi
Usama Nizamani
Chinese TV Anchors Scrutinize China-Pakistan Relations on Infer Talks
By Elaine Pasquini
Washington: Following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Europe where he met with the leaders of France, Serbia, and Hungary, research journalist Usama Nizamani held a virtual conversation with Beijing-based China Global Television Network senior anchors Zhong Shi and Wang Mangmang on the May 31, 2024, episode of InferTalks, a digital platform offering news and insights on global issues.
Kicking off the interview, Nizamani questioned Zhong about China’s position on Russia’s war on Ukraine. The anchor responded that China has made its position very clear that it believes that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. China, he said, also believes that “all efforts conducive to a peaceful political settlement to this crisis should be encouraged, and China, as you know, is now a major country on the international stage and knows how important credibility is.” Zhong also noted that “China has always been advocating for a political settlement and peaceful solution, but it cannot control the conditions on the ground.”
With respect to Israel’s war on Gaza, Zhong related that China has been wanting to play the role of mediator in the tensions in the Middle East, “but I think it is up to Israel and Hamas to find that consensus that is lacking,” he said. A lot of hope has been pinned on mediators in regional conflicts over the past couple of years, he commented, but “mediator roles are limited, and they depend on the sincerity and the political will of the parties involved.”
“China honors the United Nations Charter and Security Council resolutions,” Zhong said. “China wants to bring peace and stability in the most legitimate, fair and just way but it takes more than just a mediator for that to happen.”
Moving on to the subject of Pakistan-China relations and noting the two countries will mark 74 years of diplomatic relations this year, Nizamani pointed out that both China and Pakistan have held strategic dialogues in terms of reviving their cooperation on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and resuming its next phase.
Unfortunately, however, there have been terror attacks inside Pakistan against Chinese nationals who are working on CPEC projects. Nizamani queried Wang as to whether these attacks would bring about any change in the commitment of China in terms of working on these projects.
“Security is certainly a major concern,” Wang acknowledged. “These terrorist attacks on Chinese nationals and projects in Pakistan have certainly hindered and disrupted progress of CPEC.” She added that ensuring the safety of all workers and personnel, as well as infrastructure, is “crucial for the two sides to continue their cooperation under the CPEC framework at full speed.”
The recent slowdown in CPEC projects, Wang said, is not just a result of the terror attacks, but also due to both countries’ economic challenges and political changes as well as geopolitical uncertainties. Under the first CPEC framework, the primary focus was on infrastructure and energy which are “the most important ingredients for basically any developing country to grow rapidly,” she noted.
Moving on to the second stage of CPEC, during the strategic dialogue between China and Pakistan the two countries agreed to shift their attention to some new sectors. “They’ve agreed to establish more economic corridors… that include the corridor of job creation and it also includes the corridor of innovation, of green energy and regional development,” Wang pointed out. “CPEC projects have always brought with them jobs, with sometimes more than half of the staff on the projects being local hires.”
As for green energy, “Pakistan certainly hopes to make green energy a bigger share of energy mixes and I’m under the impression that it is hoping to generate 60 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2030,” Wang said. “It certainly needs investments and a lot of technological know-how for that to happen.”
Presently, solar, hydro, wind and nuclear power plants are being built across Pakistan with more being planned, and China has a role to play with respect to Pakistan’s move to green energy, Wang said. “As the world’s most important contributor of green energy, China certainly has a lot of expertise to share with the Pakistani side. Hopefully, with this renewed commitment the two sides will expedite this green transition, so analysts are optimistic that CPEC.2 symbolizes not only a continuation but the evolution and elevation of cooperation between China and Pakistan.”
With respect to China’s green transition, Zhong noted the success of China’s electric vehicles and lithium batteries which have been exported in bulk to the rest of the world. “The transfer from China’s traditional sectors to new sectors has been successful,” he said. “They register an exports volume of over one trillion yuan a year, with a year-on-year increase of about thirty percent. China is obviously trying to deepen its transition to greener production and lower carbon growth and strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection and try to create that harmonious co-existence between man and nature.”
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
