‘Pakistan, China working to establish peace in region’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khalid has said that both Pakistan and China were working to establish peace in the region.

“Both the countries have been enjoying the deep-rooted and multi-dimensional relations since 1960 as all the past governments had worked to strengthen the same, while Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first address also mentioned the deep ties between Pakistan and China,” he said while talking to the PTV.

The ambassador said that the mega project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had given a new dimension to the bilateral relations between the two countries. He said that under the CPEC, China was investing billions of dollars in different sectors, including energy, infrastructure, transportation, Gwadar Port, industrial parks and economic zones.

The CPEC would also help promote cultural ties between the two countries, he added.Ambassador Masood said that nine universities in China had started teaching the Urdu language, while 25,000 Pakistani students were studying in the Chinese educational institutions.

He said that the Punjab government had started a programme, under which 500 students were sent to China for two years to learn the Chinese language. He said that the first batch of students under the programme had completed their course, while the second one was studying. He urged other provinces to take the similar steps.The ambassador said that the efforts were being made to promote the Pakistani films and dramas in China, and enhance interaction between the media of the two countries.

He said that CPEC, which was a cluster of projects, had started yielding benefits as Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) ratio had increased. He said that with rising economic activities, job opportunities for the youth were also being created. Some 70,000 Pakistani citizens were working in different projects launched under the CPEC, he added.Replying to a question, he said that the Gwadar Port would become fully operational within three to four years.