Why did Pakistan cede Karakoram to China? Negotiation record.
Pakistan is the country with which China has the closest relations among its neighbors. China once provided great assistance to Pakistan when it encountered difficulties, and even spared no hardships to build the Karakoram Highway, which connects the friendship between the two countries.
This highway not only facilitated China's timely assistance, but also laid the foundation for economic cooperation between the two countries in the new century. It can be said that the construction of this highway has made the hearts and minds of the Chinese and Pakistani people forever closely linked.
The construction of the Karakoram Highway has connected China and Pakistan and closely linked the two countries. Although China and Pakistan are neighbors, the actual border is only 599 kilometers; On one side is Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and on the other side is Tashkurgan, Yecheng and Pishan counties in Xinjiang.
Western countries refer to this border line as the Xinjiang-Hunza border. As an important part of the ancient Indian civilization, Pakistan has a history of more than 2,000 years of interaction with the Chinese civilization.
However, due to geographical reasons, exchanges between the two countries often need to take a detour through the Western Regions, for example, Tang monks have experienced many difficulties in learning scriptures from the West. After the First Indo-Pakistani War in 1948, Pakistan felt a serious threat from India.
In 1955, he proposed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at the Bandung Conference and visited Pakistan in 1956. China's positive attitude, in stark contrast to the aggressive attitude of India and Western countries, diplomatic relations between the two countries began to warm up.
What is little known is that during the Bandung Conference, the demarcation of the Sino-Indian border was not clear in history because China adopted an indirect management model, and the local management mode was extremely backward.
Therefore, in 1951, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan, how to accurately divide China and Pakistani-administered Kashmir also became a thorny issue. In the early stages of the talks, Pakistan argued that the Karakoram Corridor should belong to them, while the Kanju Causeway area to the north could be considered for China.
However, the Karakoram Corridor covers an area of 5,800 square kilometres, which is three times the area of Khamjuti (1,940 square kilometres). And its geographical location is very important, adjacent to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir in the west and Indian-controlled Siachen Glacier in the south, which is also an important geographical barrier in Aksai Chin.
After carefully analyzing the history and specific topography of the Kanju Causeway and the Karakoram Corridor, he made a suggestion to the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, who once served as the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, to give up the Kanju Embankment, which our country has never really controlled, in exchange for Pakistan's concessions in the Karakoram negotiations.
Key idea: During the Bandung Conference, the question of how to accurately demarcate the border between China and Pakistan became the focus of attention of both countries. After analysis, China proposed to abandon the Kanju embankment, which it did not really control, in exchange for Pakistan's concessions in the Karakoram negotiations.
During the Qing Dynasty, the Kanju Embankment had always existed as a foreign vassal to supply to China, but its actual management was difficult, and it was more realistic to belong to the Pakistani side. China **accepted**'s proposal, and the two sides were able to start negotiations on the demarcation of the border.
In 1962, the outstanding performance of the squadron in the counterattack against India made Pakistan firm in the national policy of "uniting China to resist India". In 1963, China and Pakistan formally signed the China-Pakistan Border Agreement, and the two countries successfully exchanged sovereignty over the Karakoram Corridor and the Kanju Causeway, setting a model for future border negotiations between China and other countries.
China firmly supported Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani War, and the two countries jointly built the Karakoram Highway, although the issue of regional ownership was solved, but due to the weak national strength of the two countries, the road was not immediately built at that time.
However, in 1965 India provoked the Second Indo-Pakistani War, and the Pakistani military was in a difficult situation. At the critical moment, China stepped forward, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) advanced to the Ladakh region, and issued a proclamation condemning India's invasion of Pakistan and warning India that if all fortifications on the Sino-Tibetan border were not dismantled within three days, China would take measures.
At the same time, China urgently dispatched a large number of tanks, artillery and other equipment from the whole army to Pakistan by sea through Indonesia. China's timely support put India under pressure, but it also gave the Pakistani army great confidence to turn the tide on the battlefield.
After the war, China and Pakistan became close partners, proving the importance of land links between the two countries.
The construction of the Karakoram Highway, jointly built by China and Pakistan, is full of difficulties and challenges. On September 30, 1965, after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the commander of the Pakistani Army of Engineers, Farouk, visited China as a special envoy and put forward a proposal to jointly build a China-Pakistan highway.
After many consultations and negotiations, in March 1966, China and Pakistan finally signed the Agreement on the Construction of the China-Pakistan Highway, and jointly decided to jointly build the Karakoram Highway with the Khunjerab Port as the demarcation point.
In China, the Xinjiang Department of Communications is responsible for the survey of highways, and the construction work is undertaken by the Production and Construction Corps of the Xinjiang Military Region. The construction environment of the Karakoram Highway is extremely harsh, which is a testimony to the joint efforts of the people of China and Pakistan.
In the engineering community, the Karakoram Highway is known as:"Top 10 steep roads in the world"It is also called the highest and most beautiful road in the world by many travelers. The construction of the Karakoram Highway not only bears witness to the deep friendship between the Chinese and Pakistani peoples, but also symbolizes the friendship between the two countries.
Despite the difficulties and challenges in the construction process, the perseverance and joint efforts of the people of the two countries finally made this beautiful highway a miracle in the history of world transportation.
The Karakoram Highway winds through Kashgar, Shufu, Upa, Tuohai, Tashkurgan and other settlements, crosses the highest altitude of the whole section, Khunjerav Daban, crosses Pakistan's Baltit, Gilgit, Bisham and other places, and finally arrives at Takot, an important town in northern Pakistan.
Along the way, you can enjoy the magnificent beauty of the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and the Himalayas, and admire the rushing of rivers such as the Khunjerab River and the Indus River. Despite the 1,224-kilometre length and steep terrain that makes it extremely difficult to build, the road is a veritable "road to heaven".
On the monument to the China-Pakistan Highway near Takot, Pakistan, the following sentence is engraved in English and Urdu: "The Karakoram Highway, one of the eight wonders of the world, connects Beijing, the capital of China, with Takot, Pakistan, a distance of 5,425 kilometers." ”
This text deeply touched the hearts of the Chinese, especially the special mark, which seemed to tell the hardships and difficulties behind this highway. The construction of the Karakoram Highway is faced with the extreme environment of high altitude and cold areas, as well as the challenges of extremely complex geology.
All these make the difficulty of the project beyond the imagination of China and Pakistan and engineering and technical personnel. Geological disasters such as avalanches, landslides, rockfalls, landslides, snow, ice, and ** often occur, and the lives of construction personnel may be threatened at any time.
In the original agreement, Pakistan had 806 kilometers of roads, but after only two years of construction, Pakistan had to ask China for help.
China, on the other hand, resolutely agreed to Pakistan's request, despite its own very difficult conditions. This highway is not only a transportation artery connecting China and Pakistan, but also a symbol of friendship and cooperation between China and Pakistan.
It records the spirit of the two peoples in the face of difficulties together, indomitable and courageous.
The Difficult Task of Chinese Engineers in Pakistan There is a special and important period in the history of road construction in China. During that time, Chinese engineers made their arduous journey through Pakistan to begin one of the greatest projects of their foreign aid operations.
The goal of the project is to build a 613-kilometre-long road connecting Khunjerab and Harighi. The construction of the road was a painstaking process, requiring the construction of 24 main bridges, 70 small bridges and more than 1,700 tunnels.
To complete the project, China and Pakistan spent a total of 80,000 tons of cement and 8,000 tons of explosives. These figures are staggering, especially the amount of explosives used, which amounted to 8,000 tons, which is equivalent to five times the power of the atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima.
This project is a milestone in the history of China's road construction and a symbol of the deep friendship between China and Pakistan.
In order to build this China-Pakistan Karakoram Highway, China has invested 2700 million yuan, dispatched 220,000 engineers and road construction workers, and Pakistan also sent more than 6,000 people.
The highway was opened to traffic on June 18, 1978 and officially opened to the public in May 1986. This highway is a road of friendship built by the workers of China and Pakistan with flesh and blood, and although the natural environment is harsh and altitude sickness can also kill people, the builders still persevered to the end.
According to statistics, Pakistan announced that 810 builders were killed and 314 were seriously injured. At present, a total of 66 victims have been buried in the "Martyrs' Cemetery" in Kashgar City and Shule County in Xinjiang, and some have been buried at the construction site.
In 1978, Pakistan** built a cemetery for 88 Chinese martyrs in Gilgit, a small city near the Chinese border. These martyrs have made great contributions to the construction of the China-Pakistan Highway, and their heroic deeds are deeply rooted in the hearts of the local people.
For many years after the cemetery was built, Ali Ahmed, an elderly Pakistani man, volunteered to guard the cemetery, and he often said affectionately: "I am not guarding the grave, but a group of sleeping Chinese children." ”
These words deeply expressed his admiration and remembrance for these heroic martyrs, as well as the profound friendship between the Chinese and Pakistani peoples.
The Karakoram Mountains, known as the "Forbidden Zone for Life", are a dangerous area to be reckoned with. Although the workers of the two countries who completed the task of building the road did their best, it was only after seeing the actual situation of the road that they truly realized the power of nature.
Weathering rocks that can roll down at any time, river erosion of the fragile crust, landslides during the rainy season, glacial changes, and even rockfalls caused by high winds can wreak havoc on this friendship route.
In order to ensure the smooth flow of the road, engineers from both countries have been carrying out continuous repair and improvement work. The Pakistan army has even set up a special army engineer agency to be responsible for road maintenance and rescue work.
In villages near the road, whenever there is a problem, people go to the engineer for help. This highway is not only a symbol of friendship between the Chinese and Pakistani peoples, but also an important symbol of their common efforts to overcome difficulties and safeguard peace.
Although there are many challenges in maintaining the road, the spirit of friendship and cooperation between the two peoples will make this road shine with friendship forever.
Despite the harsh geological conditions and frequent natural disasters in the Karakoram Mountains, the original road section could no longer withstand the increasing traffic pressure, resulting in a serious deterioration of road conditions.
During this difficult period, Chinese engineers deployed a 150-meter steel temporary bridge in Pakistan at great speed, restoring the lifeline of the northern region. In the case of a massive landslide in January 2010, Chinese engineers demonstrated excellent emergency response capabilities.
They quickly arrived at the scene of the disaster and worked with the local people to clear the landslide and dig the floodway, buying precious time for the emergency repair work. In April 2015, another avalanche struck the area, resulting in the complete disruption of the China-Pakistan highway.
However, the engineers of the two countries did not give up, and they worked day and night for 5 days and 5 nights, and finally succeeded in opening the avalanche section and restoring the smooth flow of the road. Their hard work and selfless dedication demonstrate the deep friendship and close cooperation between the two peoples.
While helping Pakistan maintain roads, the Chinese construction team also volunteered to provide medical services to the villagers, generously donated daily necessities to orphanages, donated teaching equipment to schools, and set up grants for poor students.
This series of good deeds has won unanimous praise from all walks of life and has been widely reported by the local community. The sincerity of the Chinese builders has won the trust and friendship of the Pakistani people along the highway, and they regard Chinese as friends and Chinese enterprises as partners.
Chinese workers are often invited to their weddings or important festivals, and many Pakistani villages agree that their celebrations will only begin when Chinese friends arrive.
The Karakoram Highway: The Link of the Road to Common Prosperity between China and Pakistan The Karakoram Highway, a highway built in a special historical period with the nature of war readiness, has now become an important hub of China's economic development in the new millennium.
Due to the rapid development of China's economy and the increasing depletion of high-quality domestic oil fields, China has to increase oil imports from the Middle East. The annual transport of oil through the Indian Ocean already exceeds a third of domestic consumption.
In order to ensure the best oil, China is trying to build the China-Myanmar oil pipeline on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is using the political quasi-alliance with Pakistan to build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
These efforts will make Terraway a link between the two countries on the road to common prosperity.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) starts at the Khunjerab port and ends at the Gwadar port, providing a land route for goods from western China and a pipeline for oil imports from the Middle East.
While Pakistan's transportation facilities are relatively well-developed between Islamabad and Gwadar ports, the Karakoram Highway in the northern region remains a challenge. However, it is the highway that has enabled China to send more infrastructure materials to Pakistan, such as materials for the construction of the China-Pakistan oil pipeline and new roads.
In 2006, China and Pakistan cooperated in renovating and expanding the Karakoram Highway, expanding its width from 10 to 30 meters, and tripling its transport capacity.
The Karakoram Highway was officially launched in February 2008 by China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd., and after several years of construction, the first phase of the project was completed in 2013.
In September 2015, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the unveiling ceremony of the Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnel on the Karakoram Highway, marking the full completion of the new Karakoram Highway.
Since then, the time it takes for a car to arrive in Pakistan from Xinjiang, China, has been cut in half, the logistics time between the two countries has also been shortened by about 8 days, and the freight cost per ton of cargo has been reduced by $100.
In April 2016, the two countries held a groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of the Karakoram Highway Reconstruction Project in the Mansehra region of northwestern Pakistan, with a project value of up to 13$1.5 billion.
The project has built a new 120-kilometer-long, two-way, four-lane expressway and secondary road, which was fully opened to traffic in July 2020, further improving the road's traffic capacity and service level.
The Karakoram Highway, the highway connecting China and Pakistan, has improved dramatically. However, whenever Chinese drive by, they will visit the Chinese martyrs' cemetery in Pakistan to commemorate the martyrs who paved this road with their lives.
Although the martyrs have been buried for a long time, with the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Karakoram Highway will be more prosperous in the future, and these martyrs can also smile at Jiuquan.
They are true heroes, witnesses of life, and their efforts will always be remembered by us.