Pakistan-China relations are often discussed with pride and optimism, hailed as a model of strategic partnership, especially under the banner of CPEC. Yet a crucial question remains largely unasked: has Pakistan ever seriously tried to understand what fundamentally makes China rise to the forefront of global industrial power while Pakistan stagnates or falls behind?

Industrial development is the backbone of progress in today's world, powering economic growth, innovation and social uplift. A vibrant industrial sector raises productive capacity, creates employment and provides the structural foundation for sustained prosperity.

China's industrial breakthrough was no coincidence. It began with identifying critical weaknesses that needed urgent reform: outdated transport networks, unreliable and insufficient power supply, limited digital infrastructure and an underdeveloped industrial workforce lacking advanced technical skills. China's leaders understood that without addressing these fundamentals, industrial growth would remain stunted.

Step by step, China invested heavily in building a state-of-the-art transportation network, including national highways and a high-speed rail system to facilitate rapid movement of goods and labour across vast distances. It developed a reliable and abundant power supply system with advanced ultrahigh voltage transmission lines to ensure that factories and industries had the energy they needed. It built one of the world's most advanced digital infrastructures and created a controlled but expansive internet ecosystem that fuelled domestic innovation........

© The Express Tribune