On the 5th of March, 2021, the Center for Chinese Legal Studies (CCLS) at the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, LUMS organized a virtual conference on “China-Pakistan Collaboration in the 21st Century.”
The online conference was open to LUMS students and faculty. The purpose of the conference was to highlight the collaborative efforts of Pakistan and China moving forward in light of recent partnerships in cases such as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The conference started off with introductory remarks by the moderator, Professor Sikander A. Shah, Director of CCLS, LUMS who introduced the panelists and contextualised Pak-China collaboration to set the foundation for the rest of the talk. Professor Shah focused on the importance of China as a strategic ally to Pakistan in all aspects of foreign policy. He went on to say that this conference is very timely as CPEC is entering into a new phase and thus, it should be further studied and discussed to unearth opportunities for Pak-China collaboration in the near future.
The virtual event was graced by an esteemed panel which included Dr. Hassan Bashir, Political Scientist, Texas A&M University; Prof. Li Xiguang, Director, Center for Pakistan Cultural and Communication at Tsinghua University; Mr. Mustafa Hyder Syed, Executive Director, Pakistan-China Institute; Dr. Humayun Bashir, Nuclear Medicine Consultant, SKMCH&RC; and Uzair Kayani, Faculty of Law, LUMS.
Dr. Hassan Bashir touched upon various subjects in Comparative Political Theory including the idea that Western political theory has historically been about the West, but the recent rise of China in the global order has made it impossible for the West to ignore the East any longer.
Prof. Li Xiguang talked about the history of the land, which is now Pakistan and has deep links with China for thousands of years. Providing a historical perspective to this relationship, Prof. Xiguang pointed out that China learned Buddhism from the land that is now modern-day Pakistan.
Mr. Mustafa Hyder Syed focused on how CPEC will affect the future of Pak-China relations and what hurdles still stand in the way of Pakistan fully benefiting from CPEC. He prioritized the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and their future potential, but also raised questions about whether Pakistan was ready to commit to the daunting task of making the most out of these economic zones.
Professor Uzair Kayani discussed the economic dimensions of Pak-China cooperation. By way of comparison between Pakistan and China, Professor Kayani pointed out how Pakistan can benefit from China’s experience.
Dr. Humayun Bashir presented on the various possibilities for mutually beneficial collaboration between Pakistan and China in the field of medicine.
The conference included prominent audience members such as the Dean of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law at LUMS, Dr. Sadaf Aziz. The conference also received active and warm feedback from the participants and served as a constructive discourse on Pak-China collaborative efforts that is becoming more relevant day by day.
