2021 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. To enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and Pakistan, China Post and Pakistan jointly issued a set of two commemorative stamps of the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of China-Pakistan Diplomatic Relations on May 21. The stamps were named Zhuhai Port and Gwadar Port respectively. The denomination of the stamp set is 2.4 yuan and the planned circulation is 7.1 million.

The designs of the jointly-issued stamps were Zhuhai Port in China and Gwadar Port in Pakistan. Zhuhai Port is one of the 24 pivotal ports of China and one of the 5 main ports in Guangdong Province. Adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau, Zhuhai Port has the largest 150,000 DWT main navigation channel in the Pearl River Delta and a comprehensive logistic system integrating the riverway, seaway, highway, railway and airway. It is an important port node along the “Belt and Road” routes. Gwadar Port is located on the southwest coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. It is a node of many important routes from Africa and Europe via the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the east of Asia and the Pacific Ocean. It is an important part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

With blue as the main tone, this set of stamps adopts a graphic design technique, presenting the beautiful scenery of the two ports through a bird’s-eye view. The stamp set adopts an irregular shape connecting the two stamps to create a visual effect of undulating waves and flying flags. Combined with the name of the stamp, the ship in the corner matches with the basic colors of the national flags of both countries. The overall design is simple, smooth and dynamic. This set of stamps is designed by Ma Lihang and printed through offset printing technology by Shenyang Posts and Telecommunications Printing Co., Ltd. in Liaoning Province.