ON 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) declared the independence of modern China, named the People’s Republic of China (PRC). From the very outset, the nascent state was beset with problems. Having faced a century of domination, struggling against Japanese imperialism and decades of struggle against Chiang Kai Shek’s Chinese Nationalist Party, commonly known as Kuomintang (KMT), had taken a huge toll. The KMT had been driven out of the mainland but took refuge in Taiwan, where they established the Republic of China (ROC) but prior to that, they had ravaged China, emptying its coffers. Adding salt to the wound, the Occident’s suspicions of Communism, caused 543 million Chinese inhabiting PRC being ignored while the tiny island of Taiwan was recognized as a sovereign state and granted permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
The biggest task ahead of Chairman Mao was feeding and helping the war weary Chinese to stand on their own feet in the absence of international support. Besides the Soviet Union, Pakistan was one of the main countries that had not only recognized PRC, established diplomatic ties but also served as a window for China to the outside world. For twenty-five years, Pakistan raised its voice to get PRC recognition by the west, providing technology and other support denied to China by the west. In 1971, US National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger made a clandestine visit to Beijing. Despite being embroiled in a war against insurgency in its eastern wing, Islamabad organized the top-secret visit to Beijing, where Mr. Kissinger met Premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong. Thus, the foundations for US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China were laid, which was a precursor to the recognition of PRC’s recognition and the restoration of its permanent seat in the UNSC.
Chinese leadership has never forgotten Pakistan’s support in those bleak years, recognizing it as its “Iron Brother”. The opening up of PRC by Deng Xiaoping and his revolutionary economic reforms propelled China from an underdeveloped country into an economic giant. Stability and consistency in policies by the CPC and revisiting the reforms by subsequent leaderships to look inwards—carry out a critical analysis and execute course correction—has ensured the development of PRC. In 2021, the centenary of the foundation of CPC, China’s first centennial goal—the eradication of absolute poverty from PRC was realized. The meteoric economic rise of the eastern provinces had left a gap between them and the less opulent western region as well as between the rapidly growing urban community and the countryside. The disparity between the western and eastern regions has been bridged by sharing resources. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) added impetus to the process while the uplift of the rural community helped immensely.
Reports indicate that the Chinese government offered free cattle and funds to farmers in remote mountain community, which have now multiplied, enabling the dwellers to lead a better life. Roads have been paved and lit with solar panels, subsidies granted to create jobs and build better housing while officials visit residents weekly to check on their progress. The campaign took on new urgency in 2020 as the country bore the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Amidst adversity was opportunity. Facilities were established all over, including the rural region to manufacture medical supplies, including face masks and bodysuits to avert the pandemic not only in China but the world over. Organizations that employed people who were existing below the poverty line, were provided subsidies as incentive while relatively lower income workers were given bonuses for their effort.
Resultantly, 700 million people have not just been lifted out of poverty, but to a standard of living where their offspring are admitted to institutions of higher learning and they themselves reside in decent living conditions, with civic amenities and a higher quality of life. The accomplishments of PRC in science, technology, defense production, space travel and medical research is remarkable. The bold handling of the global pandemic in keeping the number of casualties to a bare minimum, developing a potent anti-COVID-19 vaccine and sharing its expertise with the world as well as free distribution of the vaccine to less developed countries is admirable.
In the current milieu of turbulence and conflict, the PRC’s proposal for solving security challenges is like a whiff of fresh air. The Global Security Initiative (GSI), which was announced by China’s President Xi Jinping in April 2022 at the BOAO Forum, is meant to ‘uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security based on insecurity in other countries’. Climate change has received ample attention but equally importantly, the GSI not only points out the issues and avenues necessitating consideration, but also names various platforms and mechanisms of cooperation. Prominent among them are the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS cooperation, which has recently been expanded, and various other regional cooperation organizations.
In a nutshell, GSI not only promotes openness and inclusiveness but welcomes and looks forward to the participation of all parties to jointly enrich its substance and actively explore new forms and areas of cooperation. Perhaps the world will be a safer place if the GSI is understood and implemented sans biases. Besides GSI, China calls for putting into action the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and endeavours to advance a foreign affairs agenda on multiple fronts, at different levels, in various areas and of multiple dimensions. It should bring solace to the rest of the world that China has resolved to work to promote coordination and sound interaction with other major countries and grow relations with its neighbouring countries in accordance with the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of enhancing friendship and partnership with its neighbours and works to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries. Well done, China.
—The writer, Retired Group Captain of PAF, is author of several books on China.
(sultanm.hali@gmail.com)
