“中巴经济走廊是服务人民的合作项目“

李卉嫔

“China-Pakistan Economic Corridor，a cooperative project serving the people"

——An Interview with Yao Jing， Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan

在中国，人们常常用“巴铁”一词指代巴基斯坦，意思是巴基斯坦跟中国是“铁哥们儿”“铁杆朋友”。近年来，随着“一带一路”建设的不断深入，两国经贸合作、人文交流更是欣欣向荣。2018年11月，习近平主席在首届中国国际进口博览会期间会见巴基斯坦总理伊姆兰·汗时强调，“要夯实中巴经济走廊早期收获项目，推动走廊建设向产业园区、社会民生等领域拓展。要用好2019年中巴友好城市年契机，促进更活跃的人文交流。”今年4月，中巴自贸协定草签，中国对巴出口的大部分商品实施零关税。为此，本刊记者专访了中国驻巴基斯坦大使姚敬，请他为我们解读两国经贸与人文交流的现状和未来趋势。

记者：请问中巴全天候战略合作伙伴关系的特殊性体现在哪些方面？

姚敬：中巴建交68年来，两国历经风雨考验，堪称国与国交往的典范，成为“铁杆朋友”，其相处之道可以概括为三个字：

一是“信”。在推进合作中，双方始终尊重对方独立、主权和领土完整，尊重对方根据本国国情选择的发展道路，充分考虑对方的感受和舒适度。

二是“情”。在新中国打破外部封锁、恢复联合国合法席位及四川汶川大地震等关键时刻，巴基斯坦都向中国提供坚定支持。在巴基斯坦推动经济社会发展、维护国家安全、遭受自然灾害的关键时刻，中国也始终不渝地同巴基斯坦站在一起，提供力所能及的支持和帮助。

三是“义”。在一系列国际和地区重大问题上，两国始终相互配合，主持公道，秉持正义，共同维护发展中国家的共同利益，成为促进世界和平、稳定与发展的重要力量。

随着“一带一路”倡议的提出，中巴关系步入新时代。习近平主席指出，中巴关系应当成为睦邻友好的典范、地区和平稳定的支柱、“一带一路”国际合作的标杆。两国正在朝着更加紧密的中巴命运共同体迈进。

记者：经过5年的发展，中巴经济走廊进入提质升级的新阶段，请问提质升级将从哪些方面开展。

姚敬：习近平主席在推进“一带一路”建设工作5周年座谈会上指出，推动共建“一带一路”向高质量发展转变，是下一阶段“一带一路”工作的基本要求。作为“一带一路”框架下进展最快的全要素合作项目，中巴经济走廊也在提质升级，进入充实、拓展的新阶段。

一是向产业合作充实。走廊建设正在从大型基建为主，转向吸引资本来巴投资设厂。中方鼓励有能力的企业赴巴投资，目前，长安汽车、东风汽车、中国重汽等中国本土汽车企业来巴投资建设生产线，安徽德力玻璃与巴方JW集团在当地合资建厂。巴政府也多次表示将出台吸引外资优惠政策，营造良好营商环境。相信未来会有越来越多的中国企业来巴投资兴业。

二是向民生援助倾斜。2018年12月，中巴双方建立了走廊社会民生工作组。中方派出专家组在巴各地考察，梳理了一批“短平快”“小而美”的民生项目。项目覆盖农业、扶贫、卫生、教育、供水、职业培训六大领域，将很快落地，对提升巴基斯坦普通民众的生活水平意义重大。

三是向西部欠发达地区拓展。巴基斯坦西部的开普省、俾路支省经济发展相对滞后，根据巴方需要，中方加大了对巴西部地区的投入。走廊框架下即将动工的第一个工业园——拉沙卡伊工业园就位于开普省。在俾路支省，中国企业运营的瓜达尔港面貌日新月异。就在今年3月底，伊姆兰·汗总理出席了瓜达尔港新国际机场动工仪式并宣布，中巴双方签署中方在当地援建职业技术学校和医院的有关文件。

过去5年，中巴经济走廊一直走在“一带一路”建设前列。我相信在双方的共同努力下，走廊提质升级也将快速取得进展，在“一带一路”向高质量发展中起到带头作用。

记者：请您介绍一下中巴经济走廊建设的最新进展情况及其对巴的影响。

姚敬：中巴经济走廊自2013年提出以来，特别是2015年習近平主席访巴以来，已在瓜达尔港、能源、交通基础设施和产业合作等领域，取得显著进展。走廊已经是“一带一路”框架下在建项目最多、进展最快的全要素合作项目。

目前，走廊“1+4”合作布局下的四大领域和全巴四个省份都有项目落地。瓜达尔港运营步入正轨，自由区开园营业，30多家中巴企业入驻。一批大型燃煤电站和新能源项目投产运营，有效缓解当地电力短缺，其中萨希瓦尔侣2万千瓦燃煤电站仅用22个月就运营发电，建成之快创世界纪录。走廊框架下的交通基础设施“两大”项目喀喇昆仑公路二期升级改造和木尔坦至苏库尔高速公路将于今年下半年陆续通车。走廊首个产业园区拉沙卡伊工业园也将于近期动工。

巴基斯坦各界和国际舆论普遍认为，走廊是巴经济增长的重要引擎。2018财年，巴经济增长率达5.8%，创过去10年来最高。走廊为当地人民创造近8万个就业岗位，有机构估算，到2030年将直接或间接创造70万个就业机会。走廊还向国际社会显示了巴基斯坦发展欣欣向荣、和平稳定的正面形象，帮助巴基斯坦吸引更多外国直接投资。

记者：请您介绍一下两国在民心相通领域的合作情况，未来还将挖掘哪些合作潜力？

姚敬：中巴特殊友好不僅体现在中巴经济走廊为“一带一路”建设发挥先行先试作用，也体现在两国民心相通和人文交流领域的合作走在沿线国家前列。2018年，两国人员交往近20万人次。2.8万名巴基斯坦学生在华留学，位居世界第三，其中享受中国政府奖学金人数全球第一。双方迄今已建立16对友好省市。在卫生领域，中方多次向巴派出医疗队，目前，中国红十字会在瓜达尔港有常驻医疗队，2018年中国眼科医疗队赴巴开展“光明行”义诊，为500多名白内障患者带来光明。中巴两国每年互相派出多个艺术团组，精湛演出得到两国民众称赞。

走廊是服务人民的合作项目，带给当地人民的是实实在在的利益。中国和平发展基金会援建的中巴友谊学校是走廊框架下竣工的第一个项目。学校本来只能容纳150名儿童，但开学当天就吸引了500人前来报到。走廊最新投产的塔尔二区块煤电项目上，几十名巴基斯坦妇女驾驶货车，成为支撑家庭的“巾帼英雄”。两国政府建立的走廊社会民生工作组，将很快开展一系列贴近民众、迅速见效的民生项目。可以说，在中巴两国人民的共同努力下，中巴经济走廊正在成为巴基斯坦走向繁荣、人民生活更加幸福的希望走廊。

In China， people often use the term "BaTie" to refer to Pakistan， which meansthat Pakistan and China are "faithful pals"and "sworn friends". In recent years，with the continuous deepening of theBelt and Road， the two countries enjoyeven flourishing economic and tradecooperation as well as cultural exchanges.During the lst China Intemational ImportExpo held in November 2018， ChinesePresident Xi Jinping met with PakistaniPrime Minister Imran Khan and stressed，"We will consolidate the early-harvestprojects of the China-Pakistan EcononucCorridor and promote the construction ofthe corridor to the direction of building theindustrial parks and carry out projects inthe field of social livelihood. We shouldtake the opportunity of 2019， the year ofChina-Pakistan sister cities， to carry outmore cultural exchanges." This April， theChina-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement wasinitialled. According to the agreement，the majority of the Pakistan goods to beexported to China will be zero-tariffed.Under this topic， our correspondent had aninterview with Mr. Yao Jing， the ChineseAmbassador to Pakistan， and asked himto share with us the current situationand future trend of economic and tradeexchanges between the two countries.

Reporter： Could you share with us inwhat sense is China-Pakistan All-weatherAtrategic Partnership special？

Yao Jing： Since the diplomatic tiewas established 68 years ago， China andPakistan have withstood challenges anddifficulties， and they have become a modelof state-to-state exchanges. We havebecome "sworn friends". I would liketo attribute our close friendslup to threereasons.

The first is that we hold trust foreach other. In the course of advancingcooperation， we always respect eachother's independence， sovereigntyand territorial integrity， respect thedevelopment path chosen by each otheraccording to our national conditions， andfully consider each other's feelings and tryto make each other comfortable.

The second is that we both cherish thefriendship between us. Pakistan offeredresolute support to China in several casesof critical time， for example， the timewhen new China was trying to breakthrough the external blockade afier itsfounding， the time when China regainedits legitimate seat of the United Nations，and the time when Wenchuan earthquakeoccurred in Sichuan. Similarly， at thecritical moments when Pakistan promoteseconomic and social development，safeguards national security， and suffersnatural disasters， China always stands withPakistan and offers support and assistancewithin its capabilities.

The third is that we both adhere torighteousness and integrity. On a series ofmajor international and regional issues，we two countries have always workedtogether and held firmly the justice. Weboth safeguard the common interests ofdeveloping countries and have become animportant force in promoting world peace，stability and development.

With the proposal of the Belt andRoad Intiative， China-Pakistan relationshave entered a new era. President XiJinping pointed out that China-Pakistanrelations should be a model of goodneighborly and friendly relation， a pillarof regional peace and stability， and abenchmark for international cooperationin the framework of the Belt and RoadInitiative. The two countries are movingtowards a closer relation as a communityof shared future.

Reporter： After 5 year ofdevelopment. China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor has entered a new phase ofqualily upgrading. Then how can thisquality upgrading be realized？

Yao Jing： President Xi Jinpingpointed out at the symposium on the 5thanniversary of promoting the developmentof the Belt and Road that it is the basicrequirement for the next phase of the "Beltand Road" construction to maintain thehigh-quality development. As the fastest-growing all-factor cooperation projectunder the Belt and Road framework， theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor is alsoupgrading and entering a new stage ofreplenishment and extension.

In the new stage， replenishment isgoing to be carried out in the industrialcooperation. The Corridor constructionis shifting from building large-scaleinfrastructures to attracting investmentto Pakistan. China encourages capableenterprises to invest in Pakistan. Atpresent， Chinese auto companies such asChangan Automobile， Dongfeng Motorand Sinotruk have invested in Pakistanto set up production lines. Anhui DeliHousehold Glass and Pakistan JW Grouphave established ajoint venture in Pakistan.The Pakistani govemment also has restatedthat it will introduce preferential policies toattract foreign investment and create a goodbusiness environment. I believe that moreand more Chinese companies will invest inPakistan in the future.

The new stage will deploy some ofthe resources toward the livelihood inPakistan. In December of last year， Chinaand Pakistan teamed up a working groupfor the social and livelihood improvementfor the Corridor. China has sent a teamof experts to investigate in Pakistan， andproposed a number of time-saving， smallbut worthy livelihood projects which areexpected to result in significant impact onimproving local people's living condition.These projects cover six major areas：agriculture， poverty alleviation， health，education， drinking water supply andvocational training. They will soon beapproved and implemented.

In the new stage， the resourceallocation will be extended to theless developed western Pakistan. Theeconomic development in the westernprovinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa andBalochistan relatively lags behind theaverage level of Pakistan. ConsideringPakistan's needs， China has increased itsinvestment in the western region. The firstindustrial park， the Rashakai IndustrialPark， which is about to be built underthe Corridor project framework， is rightsettled in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. TheGwadar Port in Balochistan， operated by aChinese company， is changing rapidly. Atthe end of March this year， Prime MinisterImran Khan attended the commencementceremony of the new intemational airportin Gwadar and announced the signing ofthe agreement between China and Pakistanon the building of vocational and technicalschools and hospitals in Pakistan.

In the past five years， the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has been at theforefront ofthe development of the Belt andRoad. I believe that with the joint efforts ofour two countries， the quality upgrading ofthe Corridor will also make rapid progress，and take the lead in the high-qualitydevelopment ofthe Belt and Road.

Reporter： Please tell us aboutthe latest progress of China-pakistanEconomic Corridor construction， and itsimpact on Pakistan

Yao Jing： Since the proposal ofthe China-Pakistan Economic Corridorin 2013， especially since PresidentXi Jinping visited Pakistan in 2015，remarkable progress has been madein the fields of Gwadar Port， energy，transport infrastructure and industrialcooperation. The Corridor is alreadyan all-factor cooperation program withthe most undergoing projects and therapidest progress under the Belt and Roadframework.

At present， the four major areasunder the "1+4" cooperation layoutof the Corridor and the four provincesthroughout Pakistan have projectsapproved and landed. The operation ofGwadar Port is on the right track; theFree Trade Zone is open for business;and more than 30 Chinese and Pakistanicompanies are settled. A number oflarge-scale coal-fired power stationsand new energy projects have comeinto operation， effectively alleviatinglocal power shortages. Among them， theSahiwal Coal-fired Power Station with acapacity of l.32 million-kilowatt cameinto use in 22 months， setting a worldrecord in terms of the construction speed.Under the Corridor project framework，the two major projects， the second phaseupgrading and renovation project of theKarakoram Highway， and the Multan-Sukkur Expressway project， will beopened to traffic in the second half of thisyear. The first industrial park along theCorridor， the Rashakai Industrial Park，will also commence m the near future.

All circles in Pakistan and theinternational public opinions generallybelieve that the Corridor is an importantengine of economic growth in Pakistan.In the fiscal year 2018， Pakistan'seconomic growth rate reached 5.8%，the highest in the past decade. TheCorridor program provided nearly 80，000employment posts to the local job market.It is estimated that by 2030， it will haveprovided 700，000 job opportunities，directly or indirectly. The Corridor alsoshowed the international community apositive image of Pakistan's prosperous，peaceful and stable development. Thishelps Pakistan attract more foreign directinvestment.

Reporter： Could you tell us aboutthe cooperarion between Pakistan andChina on the aspect of people-to-peopleconnectivity？ What kind of other potentialsof cooperotion will be explored in thefuture？

Yao Jing： The special friendshipbetween China and Pakistan is not onlyreflected in the pioneering role of theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor forthe development of the Belt and Road， butalso in the fact that the people-to-peopleconnectivity and the cultural exchangesbetween China and Pakistan take the leadamong the countries along the route. In2018， the people of two countries paidnearly 200，000 exchange visits Thereare 28，000 Pakistani students enrolledin Chinese universities， ranking third inthe world. It tops in the world ranking interms of the student number receivingChinese government scholarship. The twocountries have so far established 16 pairsof sister provinces and cities. In the fieldof health， China has sent medical teamsto Pakistan several times. At present，the Red Cross Society of China has aresident medical team in Gwadar Port.Last year， the Chinese ophthalmologicalmedical workers went to Pakistan toconduct a "Bright Travel" clinic activity，helping more than 500 cataract patientsrecover their eyesight. Every year， the twocountries send a number of art groups toeach other， bringing excellent performancefor the two peoples.

The Corridor is a cooperative programserving the local people with real benefit.The China-Pakistan Friendship Schoolis the first project completed underthe Corridor program with the fund ofthe China Foundation for Peace andDevelopment. The school was originallydesigned to receive 150 children， but500 came on the opening day of theschool. Dozens of Pakistani women drovetrucks for the coal-electricity project inthe second section of Thar Coalfield，becoming the "heroines" who supporttheir families. The social and livelihoodworking group of the Corridor programteamed up by the two governments willsoon launch a series of livelihood projectsthat are closely related to the life of thepeople and are expected to be efficient.With the joint efforts of the peoples of thetwo nations， the China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor is becoming a corridor leadingPakistan to prosperity and the people tohappiness.