An aerial photo taken on February 17, 2026 shows the Karakoram Highway across the Pamir Plateau in Kashi, Northwest China"s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Karakoram Highway, also known as the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway, is a key overland route under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, linking Kashi in China with Thakot in Pakistan. Photo: VCG

　　Seventy-five years of Pakistan-China relations reveal a truth that to understand a nation as vast and dynamic as China, one must not mistake a single paragraph for the whole. Our partnership has often been viewed through individual milestones: the Karakoram Highway, the restoration of the People"s Republic of China"s lawful seat at the United Nations, diplomatic ice-breaking between China and the United States, or the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in recent years. Yet none of these moments alone fully explains the endurance of this relationship. The deeper story lies in something less visible but ultimately more consequential: the gradual construction of strategic trust across generations, different institutions, and changing international orders.

　　Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China Photo: Courtesy of Pakistani Embassy in China