To coincide with the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference in Islamabad, which witnessed a historic first with the keynote speech from China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, the Islamabad-based think tank, Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), held a special Webinar that welcomed China’s participation in the OIC and discussed how the Chinese system had delivered for their people, ranging from poverty alleviation to good governance. The Webinar, which was held under the banner of the “Friends of Silk Road”, with the theme of ‘Whole Process People’s Democracy: Understanding the Chinese System’, started with opening remarks by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman, Pakistan-China Institute and Senate Defence Committee, in which he welcomed China’s participation in OIC as an “historic first”, where China’s entry into the Muslim world coincides with America’s exit, with US retrenchment being witnessed from Southwest Asia and the Middle East.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed also welcomed the close coordination between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, enabling the invitation to China in the OIC, which was in recognition of China’s longstanding relationship and support to the Muslim World, adding that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia close collaboration was reminiscent of the brotherly bond between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that enabled the first successful OIC Summit in Pakistan at Lahore in 1974.
In the context of changing geopolitics, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that China is emerging as a key player in the Muslim world and this role is being enhanced also due to its ties with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He lauded the strategic shift in Saudi Arabia’s policies, both domestic and foreign, especially liberalization and opening up in Saudi society, economy, culture, plus policies curbing religious extremism and promotion of women’s rights, as well as improvement in Saudi Arabia relations with Iran and Turkey. Senator Mushahid Hussain saw the emergence of a “strategic triangle” between Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia, which can play a pivotal role in strengthening unity, economic development and connectivity in the Muslim world. He said the strategic shift in Saudi Arabia was due to the enlightened leadership of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) and there were now even discussions between Saudi Arabia and China for selling oil in RMB, the Chinese currency, instead of the US dollar, while in the summer of 2022, President Xi Jinping was likely to visit Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Crown Prince MBS was likely to visit Pakistan.
Regarding the issue of democracy in China, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed referred to two surveys which were conducted in the US, one by Harvard University in July 2020 and the other one by the American global PR consultancy, Edelman Trust Barometer, in January 2022, both of which indicated that the ‘Chinese government was more popular than at any time during the previous 2 decades’, showing an 80% plus satisfaction level among the Chinese people of their government.
He said the reason for this high level of popular satisfaction was because of good governance and a better quality of life. He added a key ingredient of any system’s credibility is the ability to deliver on popular expectations, which China had done.
Speaking on the occasion, former Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid, who served in China for 6 years, said that China had developed its own model of law-based state governance, adopting global best practices, in which democracy entails prosperity and a consultative process. He said President Xi Jinping remains very popular, as the lives of the Chinese people are being improved on a daily basis. He urged the need for cooperation between China and the United States.
Sultan Hali, who has authored books on President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China, referred to the remarkable transformation of China through people-centric development that has changed lives of millions of Chinese, particularly lifting 800 million Chinese people out of poverty in just over 3 decades. He added this ‘system suits China’
Keith Bennet, who is Co-Editor of the London based ‘Friends of Socialist China’, said the Chinese system draws on the millennia of Chinese wisdom, harmony and consensus, with an inclusive, non-adversarial democratic ethos. China has no full time politicians as even sanitation workers and bus drivers can become members of Parliament.
Ms. Zoon Ahmad Khan, a Pakistani journalist and researcher, who is now Research Fellow in the Centre for China & Globalisation in Beijing, said that economic empowerment of women and their social liberation was a key ingredient of China’s success story which enabled China to progress so much in such a short time. She cited the strength of the CPC saying ‘the Party makes ordinary people in China as the heroes’.
Raza Naeem, a Lahore-based social scientist and President of the Progressive Writers Association, focused on different dimensions of the Chinese political system, showing its democratic accountability and delivery for the people of China, especially the experience of the Coronavirus Pandemic where China ‘put the people first’. He said the 21st Century will be shaped by the rise of China in economic and political domains, lauding the resilience of the Chinese people.
