A late night phone call from a top Chinese diplomat could have played a part in Pakistan’s withdrawal from the high-profile “Summit for Democracy” convened by President Joe Biden to be held on Thursday and Friday.
Pakistan on Wednesday decided to skip the “Summit for Democracy” without giving any reason for doing so, giving rise to speculation whether China, which wasn’t invited to the international conference, convinced “iron brother” Islamabad, not to attend it.
The Biden administration has invited leaders from over 100 countries and Pakistan was among the four south Asian countries invited besides India, Maldives and Nepal.
The argument that China convinced Pakistan not to attend the summit is strengthened by the fact that Chinese state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi had held a telephone conversation with Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday night.
During the phone conversation, Wang, according to the official news agency, Xinhua, “…expounded on China’s position on the so-called “Summit for Democracy” to be held by the US.”
“What the US aims for is not democracy but hegemony,” Wang pointed out, adding the country is seeking to defend its dominant position in the world in the name of democracy.
Wang said: “The US is trying to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs under the banner of democracy, abusing democratic values and creating divisions in the world”.
“Many countries believe neither is the United States in a position to set tests and standards for others nor does it have the right to ask others to only follow its way of democracy,” Wang told Qureshi.
“Wang stressed if democracy is to be discussed it should be discussed on the platform of the United Nations in the spirit of mutual respect and on an equal footing,” the Xinhua report said.
Wang praised China’s system during the phone conversation, calling it the “whole-process people’s democracy”.
China has full confidence in its democratic path and process, Wang said, adding that the “socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics is the whole-process people’s democracy, which has won wide endorsement and support from the Chinese people”.
China, Wang said, is willing to conduct full exchanges with other countries on democracy and human rights in an open and inclusive manner, and jointly promote the cause of democracy and human rights around the world.
China is also ready to work with all sides to uphold justice, reject the Cold War mentality, safeguard and develop true democracy, and earnestly defend the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of developing countries, he added.
Unusually, no quotes were attributed to the Pakistani foreign minister, Qureshi, in the Xinhua report.
Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper, quoting “official sources”, reported on Wednesday that Islamabad did consult Beijing on the issue.
“One of the reasons includes the exclusion of China from the summit. The overall state of relations between the two countries is another major factor, compelling Islamabad to stay away from the summit,” the newspaper reported.
China and Pakistan define their ties as “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” with Beijing currently the largest supplier of arms to Islamabad.
President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative’s flagship project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, passes through PoK.
In November, China delivered to Pakistan the largest and most advanced warship, a frigate with stealth capabilities, it has ever manufactured as Beijing and Islamabad continue to strengthen their military capabilities against regional rival, India.
Chinese state media reported the commissioning of the warship, quoting local and Pakistani officials, listing the vessel’s advanced capabilities, and noting that the delivery highlights Sino-Pakistan “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership”.