During the visit to China by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan, the Pakistani government put forward its vision of developing Pakistan into “Little China” in South Asia. This formulation is no superficial diplomatic rhetoric; instead, it represents a medium-to-long-term national modernization blueprint prudently formulated by the Pakistani government in light of the country’s entrenched development predicaments, regional competition landscape, and profound foundation of China-Pakistan cooperation. The so-called vision of becoming “Little China” does not mean mechanical replication of China’s development model. At its core, Pakistan aims to draw lessons from China’s long-term and steady rise in terms of developmental logic, governance experience and industrialization pathways. Relying on in-depth strategic cooperation with China, Pakistan intends to advance its economic transformation and upgrading, improve its industrial system, boost governance efficiency, and embark on a modernization path tailored to its national conditions. Pakistan’s vision to benchmark China’s development model and build a regional development benchmark rests on solid bilateral cooperative accumulation, clear national development strategies, gradually refined industrial layout, unique geographic endowments, and steadily growing geopolitical influence.

China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperation constitutes the most critical external dividend for Pakistan. The comprehensive and far-reaching strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan serves as the core underpinning for Pakistan to align its development trajectory with China and drive economic restructuring. China-Pakistan cooperation transcends utilitarian diplomatic constraints........

© Pakistan Observer