At the beginning of the new year in 2026, the seventh China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue was held in Beijing. Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, and Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, jointly presided over the dialogue, marking the start of the commemorative activities for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, held the seventh China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Qureshi in Beijing. Photo source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs website Over the past seventy-five years, China and Pakistan have gone through thick and thin together, and their friendship has become stronger with time, serving as a vivid example of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between nations. In the current international landscape, marked by turbulence and disorder, unilateralism and bullying are rampant, posing severe challenges to the global governance system. Against this backdrop, China and Pakistan, bolstered by their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, have deepened coordination and close cooperation at the bilateral, regional, and global levels. This not only provides solid support for the economic and social development of the two countries but also injects valuable stability into regional stability and world peace.
Deepen bilateral cooperation and accelerate the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future
The distinctive feature of China-Pakistan relations is embodied in all-weather, all-round, and all-field strategic mutual trust, which stems from the profound understanding and firm maintenance of each other's core interests by both sides. Pakistan firmly supports China on issues related to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and the South China Sea. China also reiterates its support for Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and national dignity, and backs Pakistan in its resolute fight against terrorism, as well as its greater role in international and regional affairs. China and Pakistan have always supported each other and treated each other with sincerity on major issues, forming a solid foundation for the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations.
Guided by solid strategic mutual trust, pragmatic cooperation between China and Pakistan in various fields continues to advance in depth. During this dialogue, both sides unanimously agreed to implement the action plan for building a China-Pakistan community of common destiny, seize the opportunity to achieve a number of early harvests, and promote the construction of a China-Pakistan community of common destiny to take the lead in the construction of communities of common destiny in the surrounding regions. The two countries have deepened the alignment of development plans and priority areas, jointly created an "upgraded version 2.0" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, focused on three major areas: industry, agriculture, and mining, and strived to build and operate the Gwadar Port, an important regional gateway, to ensure the smooth passage of the Karakoram Highway and comprehensively enhance Pakistan's sustainable development capabilities. The Gwadar Port is currently in a stage where operation and development are equally important, and its potential as a regional logistics hub and industrial base is increasingly prominent. In terms of industrial cooperation, China supports Pakistan in building a complete industrial chain system, expanding the focus of cooperation from traditional energy and infrastructure fields to emerging fields such as manufacturing, information technology, and artificial intelligence, and assisting Pakistan in optimizing its industrial structure and enhancing economic resilience. In the agricultural field, China actively shares advanced technologies such as hybrid rice and hybrid rapeseed with Pakistan through technology transfer, cooperative research, and capacity building, helping Pakistan increase grain production and the added value of agricultural products, and laying a solid foundation for food security. Mining cooperation focuses on jointly developing Pakistan's advantageous mineral resources, accelerating the transformation of resource endowments into practical productivity, and promoting diversified economic development in Pakistan.
The foundation of China-Pakistan friendship lies with the people, and its future lies with the youth. Both governments attach great importance to building public support and continuously regard youth exchanges, educational cooperation, and scientific and technological collaboration as important growth points for China-Pakistan relations. In recent years, the scale of exchanges between Chinese and Pakistani students has steadily expanded. Chinese universities have trained professionals in engineering, information technology, management, and other fields for Pakistan, who have played an active role in Pakistan's national development. Taking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan in 2026 as an opportunity, both sides will carry out a series of cultural and people-to-people exchange activities to further strengthen the emotional ties between the two peoples and promote the deepening of China-Pakistan friendship among the people and from generation to generation.
Expand regional cooperation and play a constructive role in the stability and development of South Asia
Currently, South Asia is at a critical stage of political and economic transformation, with countries generally facing multiple challenges in development and governance. Traditional and non-traditional security risks are intertwined, and the complexity and spillover effects of regional conflicts are increasingly prominent. China and Pakistan deeply recognize that regional peace, stability, and prosperity are in the common interests of all countries and the universal aspiration of their peoples. During this strategic dialogue, both sides unanimously emphasized that the order in South Asia should be established based on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and the basic norms governing international relations. They advocated resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation and opposed any unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions. A solid and strong China-Pakistan relationship has always been an important constructive force in maintaining peace and stability in South Asia and promoting regional development and cooperation.
South Asia is an important component of China's neighborhood diplomacy and a key direction for China to promote the building of a community with a shared future for the neighborhood. China has always adhered to the principle of being good neighbors and partners with its neighbors, placing the neighborhood at the forefront of its overall diplomacy and viewing the promotion of peace, stability, and development in the neighborhood as its own responsibility. Under this principle, China has actively promoted the establishment of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan (CAP) trilateral foreign ministers' dialogue mechanism, which has become an effective multilateral platform for coordinating regional affairs and enhancing mutual trust among the three parties. This mechanism has successfully held six meetings so far, achieving pragmatic results in supporting the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan, promoting the improvement of Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, strengthening anti-terrorism and security cooperation, and facilitating Afghanistan's integration into regional economic connectivity. During this dialogue, China and Pakistan expressed their willingness to continue deepening this mechanism and promoting its continuous progress.
Meanwhile, the trilateral cooperation among China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan is steadily advancing. In June 2025, the Deputy Foreign Ministers/Foreign Secretaries of China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan held a meeting in Kunming, Yunnan Province, marking the official launch of institutionalized cooperation among the three countries. As important members of the global South and key countries in the region, China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan adhere to the principles of good-neighborliness, equality and mutual trust, openness and inclusiveness, joint pursuit of development, and win-win cooperation. Focusing on economic development and improvement of people's livelihood, they are committed to promoting trade facilitation, supply chain connectivity, and industrial synergy in the South Asian subregion, injecting new impetus into regional integration and development.
China and Pakistan have jointly promoted regional multilateral cooperation, which has not only deepened bilateral strategic collaboration and expanded common development space, but also explored a practical and feasible path for promoting regional stability and prosperity, demonstrating the responsibility and constructive role of responsible regional countries.
Strengthen international cooperation and promote the establishment of a more just and reasonable global governance system
In the face of the rise of unilateralism, protectionism, and the resurgence of the Cold War mentality, China and Pakistan, as important emerging market countries and major developing nations, their coordination and cooperation on the international multilateral stage carry strategic significance that transcends bilateral relations. This was fully reflected in this strategic dialogue. China and Pakistan unanimously agreed to firmly uphold the achievements of World War II, adhere to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, resist attempts to distort historical facts, oppose the schemes of fascism and militarism to make a comeback, support the post-war international order established by relevant international legal documents and principles such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, and safeguard world peace and security, historical truth, and international justice. For a long time, China and Pakistan have maintained close cooperation within multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, jointly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and becoming the backbone of the international community in safeguarding fairness and justice, and promoting development and prosperity.
On international hotspots and global issues, China and Pakistan share highly compatible positions and closely coordinate their actions. Both sides have always adhered to the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, opposed the abuse of unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction"; jointly advocated and practiced true multilateralism, committed to enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance; jointly safeguarded an open and inclusive world economic system, supported multilateralism and free trade, opposed the formation of "small circles" and bloc confrontation, and opposed "decoupling and chain breaking" as well as technological blockades. The current sudden change in Venezuela has attracted great attention from the international community. Wang Yi emphasized: "We never believe that any country can act as an international policeman, nor do we agree that any country can claim to be an international judge. The sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected by international law." On the Middle East issue, both sides called for an unconditional and comprehensive permanent ceasefire in Gaza, reiterated their support for the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, supported the implementation of the "two-state solution," and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. China and Pakistan expressed their willingness to work together with the international community to make unremitting efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East region.
Pakistan highly recognizes and actively participates in the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative, and Global Governance Initiative proposed by China, believing that this series of initiatives profoundly respond to the propositions of the times and provide important international public goods for improving the global governance system and promoting common development. As one of the first members of the "Friends Group of the Global Development Initiative" and a priority partner of this initiative, Pakistan has deepened project alignment with China in key areas such as sustainable development, capacity building, and improvement of people's livelihood, promoting the solid implementation of the initiative and continuously injecting new vitality into China-Pakistan cooperation.
The outcomes of the seventh China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue once again demonstrate the contemporary value of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. Faced with the complex situation where deficits in world peace, development, security, and governance coexist, China and Pakistan will continue to be guided by high-level strategies, focus on common development, properly address various risks and challenges, and promote the continuous deepening and steady progress of bilateral relations. This will inject more stability and positive energy into a turbulent and changing world, and make new and greater contributions to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. (Liao Xin She)
(The author, Li Qingyan, is an associate researcher at the Institute of Developing Countries, China Institute of International Studies. This article only represents the author's views for readers' reference)