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During Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's state visit to China on October 14-17, China and Pakistan enhanced their bilateral relationship by issuing a joint declaration and inking 12 cooperation agreements and MOUs. Before concluding his first overseas trip as president, Zardari sat down with Beijing Review President and Editor in Chief Wang Gangyi and talked about Sino-Pakistani relations, the global financial crisis, antiterrorism and other major regional and international issues.
Beijing Review: How do you comment on the results of your visit to China?
Asif Ali Zardari: I think it's an eye opener. I have come now to China after nearly 15 years, and the world knows that China has taken an infinite leap these last 15 years. I was expecting it to be a progressive country before. The first time I visited here was in the 1980s. How far China has gone today is a compliment to China's founding fathers and is a compliment to the Chinese nation, how hard they have worked and where they have taken the country, and what place they today have in the world.
What is your evaluation of current Sino-Pakistani relations?
There is no current evaluation of the Pakistan-China relationship. It is only going up and going forward. We in Pakistan say that our relationship is higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the oceans, so I would confirm that observation of my forefathers.
At the luncheon for businesspeople here in China, you said that Pakistan has a lot of investment opportunities. What incentive measures and policies has Pakistan adopted to attract more Chinese investments?
In fact, we are looking at transfer of the success from the China concept. You don't charge at the base energy but you charge at the product. You take a profit in the product. That is a new and innovative way that China has developed-for instance, the electricity fee. But the product becomes so cheap that you can produce so much that your profitability comes in the end result. So we intend to transfer success from China to Pakistan, and take Chinese companies and offer them the same kind of facility in Pakistan, so they can imitate the success they've had around the world on Pakistani soil.
The financial crisis is sweeping the world. How has Pakistan been affected, and what is your plan to address it?
I've always believed that all calamities are opportunities. So I think this is an opportunity for the world to correct itself, to be able to see where it went wrong and to develop a stronger world. In that time when the developed world is correcting itself, I think it's an opportunity for countries like Pakistan and China to cooperate and be able to take advantage of these transition times.
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