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Mushahid to address key conference in Beijing, terms Pak-China Economic Corridor as pillar of 'Greater South Asia' | Pakistan-China Institute (PCI)

Mushahid to address key conference in Beijing, terms Pak-China Economic Corridor as pillar of 'Greater South Asia'

Date : October 13, 2013   

Mushahid to address key conference in Beijing, terms Pak-China Economic Corridor as pillar of 'Greater South Asia'

Islamabad, October 13:Senator Mushahid Hussain, Chairman of Pakistan-China Institute, as well as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence & Defence Production, has been invited to deliver a keynote address at a major foreign policy conference in Beijing next month. The invitation was personally delivered by Dr Hu Hao, Deputy Director General of the host think tank, China Center for Contemporary World Studies (CCCWS), which is holding the International Conference on 'Global Trends and China in the Next Decade'. The conference convenes in Beijing on November 7-8.


Senator Mushahid Hussain will also chair the concluding session of the Conference.


During the meeting with Dr Hu Hao, Senator Mushahid Hussain welcomed the recent visit of China's President Xi Jinping to Central Asia, where he announced China's  support for the 'Central Asia Economic Belt', linking Chinese economic and trade cooperation with the region, and said the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor would weave in well with the concept of the Central Asia Economic Belt. He said Pakistan's economic future, resolution of energy crisis and security and stability are linked to the success of the Economic Corridor with China.


In this regard, Senator Mushahid expounded the concept of 'Greater South Asia' which was based on broadening of the South Asian subcontinent's regional linkages driven by energy and economic integration with China, Myanmar, Iran and Afghanistan, and which would eventually be linked on the east with Kunming and on the west with Kashgar.


Referring to the coming decade, the period till 2025, Senator Mushahid Hussain said this period would see the weakening of the use of force and military occupations, efforts to resolve long-standing conflicts like Kashmir, Korea and Palestine, the decline of the West, the rise of China, the resurgence of the 'Asian Century' and unravelling of the status quo in the Middle East. He also expressed the hope that Asian countries, particularly India, should resist the temptation to join a New Great Game with a return to a Cold War mindset, and he strongly opposed any 'containment of China' strategy as some in the West are suggesting.


Senator Mushahid Hussain, thanked Dr Hao for the honour to address the distinguished gathering in Beijing, where over 100 scholars, specialists, intellectuals and policy-makers from all over the world will apply their minds to the challenges and opportunities in the coming decade. Dr Hu Hao appreciated the role played by Senator Mushahid Hussain in promoting ties with China in his capacity as Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute and also congratulated him on leading two successful delegations of parliamentarians from Pakistan to Afghanistan and Azerbaijan recently.