Pak-China relations are not bound to the CPEC project, claims the moot

LUMS’ Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL) recently conducted a virtual conference titled “CPEC: Pakistan-China Security and Strategic Cooperation.

Senator Mushahid Hussain, Chairman of the Defence Committee; Prof Uzair J Kayani, Head of Department, SAHSOL; and Prof Sikander A Shah, Director, CCLS, were among those who attended the conference, according to a news release. At this event, all the members of the Pakistan-China Institute and the LUMS community were there.

Senator Mushahid Hussain stated that the Pak-China relationship was more than just the CPEC flagship project when he gave a thorough assessment. He discussed President Biden’s multilateral approach to addressing China’s expanding regional and global influence. In this line, he cited the recently concluded Quadrilateral Security Dialogue involving the US, Japan, Australia, and India, the G-7 countries meeting, the US-NATO summit, and the US-EU summit, all of which explicitly declared China to be a global security threat.

Senator Husaain also mentioned the second phase of CPEC, which focuses on agriculture, education, socioeconomic development, Special Economic Zones, and the relocation of Chinese small and medium firms, which will help Pakistan improve economically and humanly.

He spoke on Pakistan and China’s expanding strategic partnership, noting that the latter has backed Pakistan’s efforts in the UN Security Council on several topics. He also mentioned the threat of hybrid warfare that both Pakistan and China face from their opponents, which can mitigate by exposing the CPEC fallacies. Senator Mushahid finished by describing China as a pivotal figure in Pakistan’s overall foreign policy and emphasizing the CPEC’s enormous potential for driving Pakistan’s infrastructure and human development. Regardless of the hurdles, he believes they can overcome them because of Pakistan’s strategic position in the area due to CPEC and its increasing relationship with its neighbors.