In May 2015, a cargo ship berths at the quay of the Gwadar Port, the southern starting point of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (XINHUA)

As a young schoolboy, China for me was a little red book. Intrigued by pictures of smiling children proudly holding the book aloft and reading through the pages, I also wanted to partake in its magic. And that's how I learnt about a party called the Communist Party of China (CPC). But as I grew older, I realized that unlike most political parties, the CPC was more of an ideological entity. How else does one describe such a platform with 88 million committed members? The CPC is not one of the many miracles of China, it is the miracle maker.

The CPC and China are two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to distinguish between the CPC and modern China itself, because the story of China is the story of the Party—a story of epic success achieved not by mere chance but through dogged resolve and masterful planning.

Two elements have made China great: the endless energy and hard work of the people, and the generations of leadership provided by the CPC. These visionaries provided continuity and kept the ship steady and on course, regardless of changing circumstances and realities across the globe. China's peaceful rise in becoming the world's second largest economy and a global power of paramount importance is due to the dedication of the Party. It was only recently that the CPC embarked on a journey of bringing China to the world, and today the world comes knocking at its doors. Achieving excellent economic growth rates for three decades testifies to the loftiness of the Party leadership's long-term strategies.

Up until the 1920s, China was reeling like many other nations in the world: a country without direction or a true sense of identity. New China may have been born in 1949, but the seed was sown in 1919 by the May 4th Movement, and the seed's germination began when visionary leaders, including the great Mao Zedong, formed the CPC in 1921.

Modern China was not built overnight. The CPC inherited a country unsure of itself—a China that had been subjugated and brutalized through protracted wars and imperial influence. The year 1949 changed everything. From the ashes emerged a unified country and by design, the first few decades were inward facing. The Party provided the bedrock on which the Chinese leadership set foot on a painstaking path, building the nation brick by brick from the ground up.

China changed forever in 1978. To understand the spectacular rise of China as a global powerhouse, it is imperative to comprehend the CPC. To the benign, it may appear to be a stern, single political apparatus controlling all state affairs, but informed insight reveals a persistently evolving ideological creature that is neither rigid nor a hostage to its own past.

It was in late 1978 when the CPC central executive meeting led by the iconic Deng Xiaoping shifted the focus to economic reform, introducing a raft of policies that opened the nation up to the outside world and ushering China into a new period of progress.

By the 1980s, China had clarified its rebuilding agenda. Foreseeing the needs of the future, the Party pursued objectives that would transform China into an economic superpower. With Deng's sagacity and the Party's complete support, China's economic liberalization created a miracle that is still hard to fathom and has catapulted China into the global stratosphere.

Over the decades, the CPC has given China a strong identity, a resolute sense of purpose and self, and transformed the once slumbering giant into a global, economic, military and strategic power.

The Party and the Chinese leadership predicted that global respect and recognition would follow once the effects of China's reforms became clear. The 21st-century China is not only an economic giant, but also a genuinely multi-dimensional economy that has invested meaningfully in human development. Health, education, and rural support form the backbone of China's new policy. It is no wonder that today's China is reaching for the moon, Mars, and beyond.

The CPC defies conventional wisdom and logic pertaining to political outfits. This dizzying pace of transformation could only have taken place because a robust body, the CPC, stood firmly behind the strategy.

China is now a formidable military power. Its might on land, in the skies, and at sea is profound, while its space technology is also evidence of its rapid development. This would not be possible if the CPC had not shown its wisdom over past decades. If we observe closely, we can spot a method at play here. It is a classic display of collective wisdom deployed for the individual good.

Today, China is led by the dynamic President Xi Jinping, a loyal son of the country and the Party. His vision of proposing the Belt and Road Initiative is nothing less than historic in nature—it is epic—both bold and futuristic.

Just as an ancient road opened ancient China to the world, President Xi appreciates that the new rising China needs to meet the world via modern routes that can become

pillars of trade and movement, bringing talent and knowledge to countries that are strung together via the Belt and Road project—the pearls on a string—that will make the world more prosperous and peaceful.

Pakistan and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are at the vanguard of this project. China understands that for Pakistani prosperity to happen, energy, roads and ports are needed. That is exactly what it has done, and the $46 billion CPEC is already rolling along merrily. This will become operational from next year, ready for the world to see. This is another example for which the credit must go to the CPC and its visionary leader, President Xi.

We describe our time-tested friendship with China as, "higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the deepest seas, and sweeter than the sweetest honey." This bond evolved almost simultaneously with the CPC. I call it a shared evolution. Pakistan and China have remained close partners through thick and thin, and it is the CPC which has provided the longevity and institutional continuity.

The CPC deserves credit for overseeing the "economic miracle" that lifted around 700 million people from extreme poverty within a timeframe of around 25 years. This rapid transformation of people's livelihoods has set an example worthy of emulation for other developing countries. It has changed the idea of population growth being a burden into a concept of it being a highly productive asset.

On a planet facing multiple challenges and torn by strife, China's peaceful rise is a source of stability and rationality. China is bringing a much needed balancing and moderating influence to the world order and is a strong advocate of a multilateral global architecture under the auspices of the United Nations.

I wish the Party the happiest of birthdays. May there be many more, and may China-Pakistan friendship rise to even greater heights for years to come. Amen.

The author is the governor of Pakistan's Punjab Province 

Copyedited by Dominic James Madar

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