As everyone knows, Pakistan is China's "friendly neighbor, close partner and deep brother". It is a country covering an area of 790,000 square kilometers with a population of more than 200 million people, mainly Muslim.
For this highly regarded "four good" country, we affectionately call it "Pakistan Railway". The meaning of this "iron" word is extraordinary, before that, the United States was an ally of Pakistan, and in the 50s of the last century, relations between the United States and our country were quite tense. Therefore, it is conceivable that the relations between Pakistan and my country at that time could not have been as good as they are today.
However, the world is unpredictable, and when the US policy in Asia gradually evolves to "focus on reprinting and lightening Pakistan", Pakistan began to shift to China. In the end, when Pakistan signed a border demarcation agreement with China to return Chinese territory, not only did the United States feel uneasy, but India, which is hostile to Pakistan, rushed to oppose and **.
This directly underscores the importance of Pakistan's return of the Karakoram Corridor to our country, while also demonstrating India's strong hostility towards Pakistan and China.
The name "Pakistan Railway" comes from the moment when the territory of China was returned. In 1947, Britain imposed the "partition of India and Pakistan", which led to a long-running dispute between Pakistan and India over the ownership of Kashmir in the early days of independence.
Pakistan, which is far inferior to India in terms of population, land area, and even economic development, quickly leaned towards the United States and became an ally of the United States when the country was first established. At that time, China and Pakistan were in opposing camps. As a result, since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1951, China and Pakistan have maintained a cold relationship and lacked genuine enthusiasm.
Until the 60s of the 20th century, China clashed with India, and the United States began to actively woo India in order to combat China, which caused Pakistan to feel dissatisfied. From January to June 1961, Pakistan** intensively attacked the U.S. policy of "valuing India and despising Pakistan."
With the United States no longer a fully dependent ally and India's continued hostility towards Pakistan, Pakistan has had to seek to improve relations with China.
Of course, for relations between the two countries to be truly good, both sides need to show real sincerity. As a result, the issue of border negotiations, which has been pending between the two countries, was put on the agenda. Pakistan has shown good faith in this regard, and as early as March 1960, Pakistan** sent a formal letter to China** requesting border negotiations.
At the same time, China also has the urgent task of "opening the door to the west" and "stabilizing its neighbors." The common interests of China and Pakistan led them to reach a consensus quickly. Therefore, in February 1962, China** officially replied to Pakistan** that it was willing to negotiate the border.
Subsequently, the China-Pakistan border negotiations began rapidly and went through three important stages.
In the first stage, preparations were made for the China-Pakistan border talks, from May 3, 1962, when China and Pakistan issued a "joint communiqué" on border talks, to October 11, 1962, on the eve of the official start of border talks between China and Pakistan. At this stage, the parties reached an agreement in principle on the issue of border negotiations.
The second phase began with the border negotiations between China and Pakistan on October 12, 1962, and ended on March 2, 1963, when the two sides signed the Agreement between the People's Republic of China** and Pakistan** on the Border between China's Xinjiang and the Areas under Pakistan's de facto control over its defense. The key moment in this stage was on March 4, 1963, when China and Pakistan simultaneously issued a successful "joint communiqué".
In the third stage, from the first meeting of the Sino-Pakistani Joint Demarcation Commission on May 31, 1963, to the signing of the "Boundary Protocol" between China and Pakistan on March 26, 1965, it lasted more than 22 months, marking the successful conclusion of the Sino-Pakistani border negotiations.
The demarcation of the border was carried out in the spirit of equality, mutual benefit, friendship and cooperation. After more than three years of negotiations, both sides made a compromise.
Under the border protocol signed between Pakistan and China, Pakistan returned 5,310 square kilometers of land in the Karakoram Corridor to China, while China transferred 1,940 square kilometers of land in the Hunza (Kanjudi) area to Pakistan, making the border between the two countries undisputed.
From this moment on, Pakistan's geopolitical identity has changed from an ally of the United States and an adversary of India to China's "Pakistan Railway".
Subsequently, the relations between the two countries became more harmonious. In a speech to Parliament, Pakistani Foreign Minister Bhutto declared: "Pakistan will no longer feel alone. He added: "India's attack on Pakistan would also threaten the security and territorial integrity of Asia's largest country." ”
India expressed strong dissatisfaction with this and began to take hostile actions to test the depth of Sino-Pakistani friendship.
In August 1965, when the Indo-Pakistani War broke out, Pakistan**Abuyu asked China for assistance in an emergency. China immediately issued a strong condemnation of India in the international arena and delivered an ultimatum to the Indian Embassy in China on September 16.
In the ultimatum, China demanded that India** remove all its aggressive fortifications on the Chinese side of the Sino-Sinian border and on the line across the Sino-Sinian border by midnight on September 22, and immediately cease all intrusive activities on the Sino-Indian border and the Sino-Sik border. This ultimatum served as a key international deterrent, leading to the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution on September 20 that stipulated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan within three days.
On 22 September, India and Pakistan ceasefired, ending the conflict. In the September 20 resolution of the United Nations Security Council, Bhutto referred to it as a "China resolution" because China's ultimatum caused panic among international powers, forcing them to take action at the United Nations to stop the war between India and Pakistan.
From this moment on, the friendship between the "Pakistani Railway" and China began to flourish.
However, after the demarcation of the border between China and Pakistan was completed and the border protocol was signed, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said that India would not recognize any agreement reached between China and Pakistan. This attitude is both impatient and arrogant, showing India's strong dissatisfaction and hatred for Pakistan's return of Chinese territory.
During the border talks between China and Pakistan, India has been trying its best to sow discord, threaten and intimidate, and even try to send troops to provoke China, with the aim of sabotaging the border talks between China and Pakistan. However, these ruses were exposed, threats ignored, and troops were repulsed.
"Indian newspapers have long tried to drive a wedge between China and Pakistan, which are engaged in friendly border negotiations, through careful planning," the Pakistani newspaper said. ”
In the face of setback, India turned to "smokescreen" tactics and expressed its willingness to negotiate the ownership of Kashmir. However, India has always insisted that Kashmir belongs to India, and that neither the mediation of the United Nations nor the direct negotiations between India and Pakistan have achieved substantive results, and India has only tried to delay the negotiations between China and Pakistan.
After discovering that these tactics were not working, India decided to take military action in an attempt to obstruct the Sino-Pakistani border negotiations by occupying Kashmir. However, India's military operation failed again with the help of the Pakistani police.
During this time, India not only took obstructive actions against Pakistan, but also launched a series of so-called "note battles" against China.
The argument that "there is no common border between China and Pakistan" is constantly emphasized, in an attempt to essentially negate the work of border negotiations between China and Pakistan. India has repeatedly declared the Sino-Pakistani agreement null and void, stressing that Kashmir has nothing to do with China and Pakistan, insisting that "it is India's."
India subjectively believes that "China has recognized this fact", which can be said to have lost the judgment of the southeast and northwest. At the heart of India's actions is to prevent a border agreement between China and Pakistan. However, India did not anticipate that its interference and obstruction would instead accelerate the process of border negotiations between China and Pakistan.
It can be said that India has inadvertently played a role that it was not willing to play - the "promoter" of the Sino-Pakistani border negotiations. India's interference and obstruction have forced Pakistan to constantly set the record straight, thus creating a positive atmosphere for the China-Pakistan border talks.
In addition, India's behavior has also strengthened Pakistan's determination on the issue of Kashmir's ownership, and hastened Pakistan's eagerness to sign a border agreement with China as soon as possible.
India has repeatedly sent notes to China, forcing China to constantly refute India's accusations and firmly state China's solemn stand on the China-Pakistan border issue and the Kashmir issue. This also promotes China's firm position on these two issues, and further consolidates China's belief in the necessity and urgency of China-Pakistan border negotiations.
India's various obstruction of the China-Pakistan border negotiations has objectively produced an effect that it absolutely does not want. China and Pakistan have a clearer bottom line on each other's border issues, and their determination to negotiate the border has become firmer.
This is because if China and Pakistan show any hesitation in the border talks, or even lead to the stagnation of the talks, it is tantamount to indirectly acknowledging India's claim that "there is no border between China and Pakistan" and that "China and Pakistan are complicit in the 'carving-up' of Kashmir and 'aggression' against India."
This has prompted China and Pakistan to jointly accelerate the process of China-Pakistan border negotiations, and India has inadvertently played the role of a "facilitator" of China-Pakistan border negotiations that it is absolutely unwilling to play.
The repatriation of the Karakoram Corridor has attracted widespread attention, and India strongly opposes it, although it is logically unrelated to the return of our territory by Pakistan. The reason behind this opposition lies primarily in the geostrategic importance of the Karakoram Corridor.
First of all, this land is vital to the security of China's western homeland. After Pakistan returns this territory, China will have full control of the land route from Xinjiang to Pakistan, realizing the close connection between Xinjiang and Pakistan and making exchanges between China and Pakistan more rapid and convenient. For India, it will face dual pressure from China and Pakistan, and the control of Kashmir will be under substantial threat. Pakistan can strike at or contain India through the rear.
If artillery units are placed on this land, it can even directly threaten New Delhi, which will undoubtedly make India anxious.
It can be said that the return of the Karakoram Corridor has brought China's security system in Xinjiang territory to a higher level.
Second, it is of great importance for the development of China-Pakistan economic cooperation. In the 60s of the 20th century, after more than 10 years of construction, China and Pakistan jointly built the Karakoram Highway connecting Kashgar, China and Takot, Pakistan, with a total length of 1,032 kilometers, in 1978. Known as the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway, the passage controls the Khunjerab Pass on the border with Pakistan. The highway runs through the north of Pakistan, which greatly shortens the land transportation distance between China and Pakistan and creates favorable conditions for the development of China and Pakistan.
Especially in the 21st century, with the proposal of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project with the Karakoram Corridor as the main corridor has been fully launched. The two countries decided to build a "four-in-one" corridor connecting Kashgar, China's Xinjiang province, and Pakistan's southwestern port of Gwadar, including roads, railways, oil and gas pipelines, and fiber optic cable coverage. This will further promote the development of economic cooperation between China and Pakistan.
At present, China has handed over the construction of Gwadar Port to China Overseas Port Holdings***, and in 2015, the Karakoram Highway was upgraded to make it an all-weather transportation artery.
This initiative will not only become the main channel connecting western China with the Gwadar port in Pakistan, but also is expected to become an important energy transportation route connecting China's Xinjiang with oil-producing countries in the Middle East and Africa. At the same time, the construction of the China-Pakistan railway and oil and gas pipelines has also been included in the agenda, and part of the construction has been started in the corresponding fields.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cooperation agreement spans infrastructure, energy, industry, telecommunications and other sectors. As of early 2019, there were 22 early-stage CPEC projects with a total investment of US$19 billion, significantly improving Pakistan's macroeconomic situation.
So far, there are more than 400 Chinese enterprises in Pakistan, and in 2021 alone, Chinese investment in Pakistan exceeded US$400 million. Under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Rashakai Special Economic Zone has been completed and started to attract investment, the second phase of the Gwadar Free Zone has also been successfully started, and the RMB cross-border payment system has been successfully put into use in Karachi.
The promotion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has also brought substantial benefits to China's energy security. The construction and transportation of oil and gas pipelines will help reduce China's dependence on the shipping lanes of the Strait of Malacca.
As the CPEC continues to progress and its results are becoming apparent, neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan and Iran, are increasingly interested in participating in the CPEC. The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor+ has become an unstoppable trend.
China and Pakistan have begun discussions with Afghanistan and Iran on the idea of a China-Bahia-Afghanistan corridor that would serve as an economic corridor connecting China, South and West Asia and filling the vacuum in the Belt and Road Initiative.
At that time, Pakistan Railway will establish a stronger connection with China and achieve common high-speed development.