Ever since the severe and catastrophic floods have commenced in Pakistan, the All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA) has acted swiftly, and Chinese enterprises throughout Pakistan have responded readily and positively by collecting cash donations, donating tents and food, and repairing houses and other infrastructure to help the Pakistani people overcome the impacts of this disaster. In the face of great disasters, China has always stood together with the fraternal people of Pakistan, and is concerned about the safety, well-being, and security of the people in the affected areas, and empathizes with the struggles faced by the Pakistanis in these times of crisis. The Chinese government aptly and swiftly responded by donating 400 million RMB to the Pakistani side for flood relief.

Under the guidance of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Pakistan, Chinese companies have carried forward the remarkable brotherly traditions of China and Pakistan in helping each other and supporting each other, and have firmly fulfilled their social responsibilities in the face of the floods, sending help to the Pakistani side in times of crisis. A large number of Chinese companies have donated an amount of almost Rs 260 million to the various flood relief funds and efforts in Pakistan. To begin, On 26 August, APCEA donated 15.5 million rupees to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund 2022.

The donation handing-over was witnessed by the Federal Minister of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, the Chinese Ambassador, Nong Rong, and the Chinese Minister Counsellor Mr. Xie Guoxiang. APCEA then proceeded with its vigor of helping the flood victims by launching a second round of donations. China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Ltd responded positively to the call and generously donated approximately US$650,000, the highest single donation of any Chinese company in Pakistan for flood relief. State Grid responded positively to the Pakistani Embassy in China by donating US$200,000. State Grid investment project in Pakistan, Matiari-Lahore HVDC Transmission Project, allocated a special fund of 5 million PKR for special assistance to affected employees and food distribution to affected villagers around the project.

On 1 September, Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd. donated US$250,000 in cash to the Balochistan government in the name of the enterprise to support the flood relief in Balochistan. At the same time, Metallurgical Corporation of China ltd. organised its staff to make donations, donating a total of about 2 tonnes of relief materials to the local victims and received a letter of thanks from the local government. OPPO donated Rs 10 million to the Al-Khidmat Foundation and set up flood relief camps at villages in Noshki, Gandaha and Thatta. Nearly 300 affected families were provided with temporary shelter, food and medical assistance. The company also started a volunteer action plan to encourage its employees to go to the frontline in an organized manner to participate in the relief efforts.

Chinese companies have donated tents, drinking water, food rations, medicine and clothing to the affected villagers in the surrounding areas, with a cumulative total of over Rs. 120 million On 9 September, China National Nuclear Corporation donated a total of Rs 60 million worth of funds and disaster relief materials to the Pakistani government to support the flood relief causes in Pakistan. Huaxin Resources Co., LTD, the developer of a block in the Thar coalfield, donated 200 tents, thousands of relief rations and relief medicines to the affected villagers in the surrounding area, at a total cost of approximately Rs 5 million. On 13th September, Challenge Group delivered the much-needed relief supplies from Lahore to the DG Khan area, donating 2,100 items including mosquito nets, food, drinking water, clothing and milk powder, worth approximately Rs 15 million.

PowerChina, which is executing the construction of the Diamer Basha Dam Project, was the first to organize on-site disaster relief after learning about the damage around the project and its site. Rescue teams were sent to operate excavators, bulldozers and other heavy machinery and equipment to help local villagers clear the collapsed sections and backfill the foundations of irrigation canals. In the vicinity of the Suki Larrikin hydropower project in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, a bridge that is essential for local residents to travel was swept away by the flooding, and the local engineers of China Energy Engineering Group Co.,Ltd immediately took action to investigate the situation, formulate a plan, and timely call mechanical equipment to restore the bridge and protect the lifeline.

In Sukkur district,Sindh, floods inundated farmland and swept away the houses. China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd, which is carrying out maintenance work on the PKM highway (Sukkur-Multan section), organized personnel to immediately go to the affected area, to open up emergency access, and provide support for the transportation of relief supplies. In the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the Dasu Project Department of China Energy Engineering Group Company sent technicians and mechanical equipment to clear the fallen rocks on the road, excavate the mountain, fill in the roadbed and urgently repair the Karakorum Highway. In addition to this, the Chinese enterprises showed regard and consideration towards the Pakistani employees who have been affected by the disaster in their hometown, and positively helped to relieve the difficulties of their families and alleviate their sorrows by giving them grants in the form of cash and special allowances.

In order to prevent major disease outbreaks after the sdisaster, the Chinese companies have directed, and organized for, the company medical teams to provide voluntary medical consultation and assistance for the affected people in the surrounding villages and provide free medication for treating and preventing illnesses like the dengue fever, malaria and influenza. The PKM project took rapid action to procure about 500 medical boxes ofvarious types of medicinal drugs to treat post-disaster epidemics and organized medical teams to visit nearby villages to carry out free medical and pharmaceutical activities to help local villagers understand post-disaster disease prevention as well as epidemic prevention knowledge and avoid the start and spread of infectious diseases, so as to ensure the health and food safety of people in the affected areas after the floods.

Bank of China Karachi Branch has increased the food allowance and transport allowance for Pakistani staff since July to effectively protect the financial income of the staff during the floods. Nearly 100 member companies have participated in the flood donations, reaching an unprecedented unanimity of action in helping the people of Pakistan to survive the floods, and the amount of donations continues to set new records. According to the statistics of the All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA), the total amount of donations from Chinese enterprises is currently around 400 million rupees. Chinese enterprises will continue to increase their support to the affected people in Pakistan.

Chinese enterprises in Pakistan have always adhered to the concept of One Belt, One Road and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have actively fulfilled their social responsibilities, responded to the call of the Chinese and Pakistani governments, and raised funds and materials for disaster relief. In addition to helping the people of Pakistan overcome food shortages and infrastructure damage, we have been building roads and dams, bridges and houses, and have continued to lend a helping hand to the Pakistani side to rebuild their homes. Chinese enterprises will take practical actions to further strengthen the friendship between China and Pakistan and build a closer China-Pakistan community in the new era.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP