By: Ambassador Jiang Zaidong
Ever since the U.S.-Israel military strikes against Iran, the conflict in the Middle East has been continuing and spreading, with the shadow of regional conflict lingering and spillover risks escalating. Meanwhile, calls for promoting peace and ending conflicts have grown increasingly strong, and efforts to mediate and facilitate dialogue have never ceased. Bringing the region back to peace, stability, and development as soon as possible is a shared aspiration of the international community. At this crucial stage, Chinese President Xi Jinping solemnly put forward four propositions on safeguarding and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, emphasizing staying committed to the principle of peaceful co-existence, national sovereignty, international rule of law, and a balanced approach to development and security. The four-point proposition has contributed Chinese wisdom and solution to resolve the regional crisis and promote lasting peace and stability, and has received extensive support and high praise from the international community, including Pakistan.
As ironclad friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan have maintained an objective and impartial stance on this conflict and have joined together to promote ceasefire and peace talk. As a responsible major country and a sincere friend of the Middle East countries, China will not cease its efforts to promote peace as long as regional peace has not been restored. At the same time, Pakistan fully leveraged its advantages, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Field Marshal Asim Munir all actively working for peace, successfully facilitated a temporary ceasefire and hosted the Islamabad Talks. During this period, China and Pakistan maintained close communication and cooperation, with the two foreign ministers speaking three times and jointly issuing a Five-Point Initiative for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region in Beijing, sending a message of peace and justice. China and Pakistan are striving to inject valuable stability into the turbulent region with the high certainty of their bilateral relations. The China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership is demonstrating a leading and exemplary effect that transcends bilateral significance.
Generational friendship is the eternal theme of the ironclad friendship between China and Pakistan. China has identified Pakistan as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, while Pakistan has reaffirmed Pakistan-China friendship as a cornerstone of its foreign policy. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1951, the two countries have always supported each other and shared weal and woe on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. In 2015, President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to Pakistan, ushering into a new era for China-Pakistan relations. In 2025, the two governments issued an action plan to foster an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future, marking a new journey for China-Pakistan relations. For the 75 years, leaders of both countries have visited each other frequently like relatives. The people from the two sides affectionately refer to each other as “ironclad brothers,” and the phrase “higher than mountains, deeper than ocean, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel” vividly illustrates the friendship between our two countries. The China-Pakistan relationship has set a model for friendly coexistence and common development between nations. As the phrase goes “Good neighbors wish each other well”, China and Pakistan are committed to promoting regional peace, hoping that states in the Middle East and the Gulf region will also improve their relations and live in harmony.
Jointly safeguarding national sovereignty is a distinctive feature of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperation. China and Pakistan have always firmly supported each other on issues involving their core interests and major concerns. Pakistan firmly adheres to one-China principle and supports all efforts made by China to achieve national reunification. China firmly supports Pakistan in defending sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and supports Pakistan in pursuing a development path suited to its national realities. In the current situation, both countries believe sovereignty serves as a foundation for all countries, especially developing countries, to survive and thrive, and it must not be violated. The sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the Gulf states should be earnestly respected, and the safety of their personnel, facilities and institutions vigorously safeguarded.
Upholding the rule of international law is a shared pursuit of China and Pakistan. As members in the Global South, China and Pakistan firmly support true multilateralism, resolutely uphold the authority of the rule of international law, and firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It is precisely for this reason that during the SCO Tianjin Summit last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative, then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif immediately stated that GGI is of great significance to world peace, stability, and development, Pakistan would fully support and actively implement it. The Five-Point Initiative recently jointly put forward by our two countries is a concrete action to implement the GGI and demonstrates our firm commitment to uphold the principles of the rule of international law.
Balancing development and security is a vivid practice of China and Pakistan. Security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security. As the world enters a period of turbulence and change, China and Pakistan must not only jointly pursue development and share opportunities, but also jointly build security and safeguard stability. On the one hand, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is progressing steadily, ushering the upgraded phase of cooperation under CPEC 2.0. The two countries are strengthening cooperation in key areas such as industry, agriculture, and mining, jointly advancing the “growth corridor, livelihood corridor, innovation corridor, green corridor and openness corridor” towards high-quality development. On the other hand, the two countries are continuously deepening security cooperation. China firmly supports Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and appreciates Pakistan’s efforts to safeguard the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions, and projects in Pakistan. We are willing to work with Pakistan to promote a virtuous cycle of “development promoting security and security ensuring development,” and share our experience with countries in the Middle East and the Gulf region to nurture a fertile ground for regional development and security.
Currently, the situation in the Middle East is still evolving in a complex way, and restoring regional peace and stability remains a long and arduous task. China and Pakistan are not only all-weather strategic cooperative partners but also a mainstay in upholding international fairness and justice. We are ready to work hand in hand with Pakistan to stand on the right side of history and on the side of humanity’s common interests, take the lead in upholding principles and justice, pursuing peace and promoting development, unite all peace-loving countries and people around the world, follow the four-point proposition put forward by President Xi Jinping, continue to implement the five-point China-Pakistan initiative, and make unremitting efforts to promote peace, stability and lasting security in the Middle East, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
