Whatever the volume of assistance for Pakistan that China is expected to finalise very shortly, the striking feature of the grandstanding that marked Imran Khan’s arrival in Beijing on Friday was his remarkably frank admission to President Xi Jinping that “Pakistan wants to learn from China”. Implicit in that expression in a rare moment of candour was the new Prime Minister’s admission that Pakistan is facing a “very difficult” economic situation, indeed a depleted inheritance.
The qualifier in quotes is almost an under-statement considering the magnitude of the fiscal straits. While the country hopes to secure a major economic package from Beijing, hoi-polloi has been kept guessing about the details of the interaction at the Great Hall of the People. Preliminary talks point to a tentative aid package of $6 billion. It is fairly obvious that the thrust of the discussions was riveted to the economy and relatively less on South Asia’s geopolitical construct.
Mr Khan blended rhetoric with reality in his interaction with President Xi ~ “Countries go in cycles. They have their high points, they have their low points. Unfortunately, our country is going through a low point at the moment with two very big deficits, a fiscal deficit and a current account deficit. And so we, as I’ve said, have come to learn.”
The ideological underpinning is starkly different in either country, one under a Communist regime and the other an Islamic, if not mildly theocratic, state And to implant the China model in Pakistan is easier imagined than accomplished. Short of dwelling on specifics, Mr Khan has complimented President Xi as perhaps no other Pakistan leader ever has. The Prime Minister has described Xi as a “role model owing to his vision and leadership. Our country is very impressed the way China has progressed.
China’s phenomenal achievements are worth emulating. No other country has tackled poverty and corruption the way China has tackled it,” he said, adding that “Pakistan wants to learn from China’s experience in poverty alleviation and curbing corruption.” Yet the nub of the matter must be that China under Xi has trimmed its ideological sails ever since the Mao era, and has sought to blend pragmatism with the compulsions of a market economy.
The Bengal Left, it would be useful to recall, had tried the same when in power, but it turned out to be an abortive endeavour. China endorsed the concept of market economy at the Third Plenum of the Communist Party a couple of years ago. Pakistan’s political and societal reality is decidedly more complex for any essay towards emulating the China model.
President Xi has promptly reciprocated Mr Khan’s diplomatic courtesy ~ “China has always placed Pakistan as a diplomatic priority. It has supported the new Government’s smooth running and advancement of national construction.” Neither leader alluded to India and Afghanistan, nor for that matter the Belt and Road Initiative. Both seemed anxious to avoid a flutter in the subcontinental roost.