CPEC upgraded version to expand cooperation in various fields: Chinese ambassador

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong on Wednesday said that China will continue to work with Pakistan to focus on building an upgraded version of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to further consolidate and expand practical cooperation in various fields between the two countries.Pakistan’s cuisine
During question and answer session with students at National University of Modern Language (NUML), the ambassador said that the upgraded version of CPEC will continuously further improve the all-weather strategic cooperation level between China and Pakistan, and better help Pakistan develop its economy and improve people’s livelihood.

He said that the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Pakistan have led the development of bilateral relations, set the positioning of China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, and carried forward the construction of the CPEC from basic layout to a new stage of building an ‘upgraded version’.

Jiang Zaidong said, “We are willing to work with Pakistan to better implement the consensus, and speed up the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.”
He said that in international and regional affairs, China and Pakistan have always maintained close coordination and cooperation to effectively safeguard international fairness and justice and the common interests of developing countries.

He added both countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the ‘Global South’. “We are ready to strengthen unity and cooperation with Pakistan, usher in a new era of joint self-reliance in the ‘Global South’, to respond to the unprecedented changes in a century for a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.”
The ambassador said that Pakistan has successfully hosted meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the SCO Member States.

He added, Chinese Premier Li Qiang personally led a delegation to attend the meeting and officially visited Pakistan. “It reflects China’s firm support for Pakistan and also highlights the huge potential for both parties to strengthen cooperation.”
Jiang Zaidong said that in July this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed at the SCO Astana Summit to build a common home of unity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good neighborliness and friendship, fairness and justice.

He said that all member states have determined the Year 2025 as the ‘Shanghai Cooperation Organization Year of Sustainable Development’. “Focusing on this theme, we will carry out a series of cooperation and actions in the eight key areas of the global development initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, including poverty reduction, food security, public health, development financing, climate change, green development, industrialization, digital economy, and connectivity.”
He said that a series of cooperation and actions will make positive contributions to building the SCO as a reliable strategic support for member states to achieve common prosperity and revitalization.

He added the cooperation areas and other series of actions are highly consistent with Pakistan’s development ideas and needs.

The ambassador said that the Pakistani new government has led the people to unite and work hard to achieve economic stabilization and improvement. The GDP has turned from negative to positive in Pakistan, and it is expected that the new growth will be achieved in the new fiscal year.

He said that the inflation rate has been reduced to the lowest level since the past five years and Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserve has achieved the highest since the past two years.

He said that youth are the future of the country and the backbone of China-Pakistan friendly cooperation. “We are willing to give more preference to youth exchanges.”
The ambassador said, “We are willing to train talents for Pakistan through educational cooperation.”He added more than 20,000 people are registered to study Chinese in Pakistan, and many universities in China have opened Urdu major.

He informed that especially with the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” and CPEC, the two sides established the CPEC Consortium of Universities of 130 members.

He said that the China has also assisted Pakistan in upgrading and renovating 50 vocational and technical training centers and providing teaching facilities and equipment for them.

Jiang Zaidong said, “We will continue to promote exchanges between Chinese and Pakistani higher education institutions, provide convenience for more Pakistani young people to study in China, provide resources such as the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship.”
He said, “We will speed up the implementation of the project for 1,000 Pakistani students to study modern agricultural technology in China, strive to create better conditions for their growth and development, and cultivate more envoys for the cause of China-Pakistan friendship.”