On Tuesday, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has said that Pakistan is under severe pressure from the US and other Western powers because of his country’s all-weather ties with China and vowed to never buckle under pressure.
China and Pakistan enjoy a very special relationship spanning over 70 years and nothing could change these time-tested ties according to Imran Khan. The prime minister of Pakistan was speaking in an interview with the English-language state-broadcaster of China called the China Global Television Network (CGTN) and an excerpt of which is shared on his Instagram account.
Talking about the evolving regional rivalry between the US and China, Imran Khan has said that Pakistan thinks it is very unfair for the US or other major Western powers to pressure countries like them to take sides in a conflict with China.
Imran Khan also said that Pakistan will never take sides. He also mentioned having good relations with all other countries. He also stated that this is not going to happen if pressure is put on Pakistan to change its relationship and also downgrade its relationship with China. He further added that this is not going to happen at any cost.
He has also emphasized the deep relationship that Pakistan has with China. Imran Khan also said that Pakistan would never bend under any kind of pressure. He further added that whatever will happen, the relationship between the two countries is not going to change, no matter what pressure is put on them.
He also stated that there was a strange and great rivalry that has been taking place in the region which was public knowledge.
Imran Khan also said that the United States is being wary of China. How the United States and China are looking at each other creates problems because what the United States is doing is it is forming a regional alliance called Quad, which is US, India, and two other countries, he added.
The Quad or Quadrilateral alliance consists of countries like the US, India, Japan, and Australia that have been resolving to uphold a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
Imran Khan was responding to a question about how to further deepen Sino-Pakistan ties, said that the two sides enjoyed strong political ties but the relationship was not only limited to official relations but it was also a people to people relationship.
He further added that trade was important to increase ties in the future and termed the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the biggest thing happening in Pakistan.
The CPEC which connects the Gwadar Port in Balochistan in Pakistan with the Xinjiang province of China is the flagship project of the ambitious multi-billion dollar project of China called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Imran Khan showcased the 70 years of diplomatic ties with China.
