BEIJING – With the Energy and Road projects under CPEC nearing completionthe $60 billion CPEC project is entering the next phase of industrialdevelopment in Pakistan.
Pakistan Ambassador to China, Masood Khalid said on Friday that both Chinaand Pakistan have agreed to establish nine industrial parks in Pakistanunder China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework and hoped that atleast two or three special economic zones could be built this year.
“Outcome of the CPEC is the establishment of many industrial parks andspecial economic zones. Both the countries have agreed to establish nineindustrial parks in Pakistan,” he said in an exclusive interview with theChinese Edition of “Chine.com.cn.”
He said that China’s experience in establishing special economic zones hasbeen very successful, he said and added, “We hope that at least two orthree special economic zones can be built this year, which means that wewill build manufacturing centers, joint ventures, which will give peopleemployment opportunities,” he added.
Ambassador Khalid said that the CPEC has brought work to more than 60,000people in Pakistan. This is the result of the already-launched project,adding, the development of more projects under the Economic Corridor andthe Belt and Road Initiative will lead to more job opportunities, percapita income will also increase, the government will have more funds forthe construction of roads, hospitals and schools.
Terming it a holistic and comprehensive process, he said, throughcontinuous and sustained efforts, we can solve the problem of poverty andhope that we can learn from China’s experience in this regard.
He said, Pakistan and China are old friends and their all-weather strategicpartnership is based on mutual respect and mutual trust, adding, “Ourrelationship is very broad and diversified.” “We have cooperation in manyfields, bilateral cooperation, regional cooperation, and cooperation ininternational forums,” he added.Ambassador Khalid said, in the past three to four years, we implemented theCPEC project, which is a pilot project and a new project under President XiJinping’s “One Belt One Road” initiative.
He opined that President Xi’s “One Belt and One Road” initiative, with avision for the future and great foresight, will bring peace to this world.Therefore, interconnection will also promote our mutual trust.Pakistan and China have carried out close cooperation on economic corridorprojects, and many projects are steadily advancing.
He informed that about 22 projects are currently being implemented inPakistan. These projects have the participation of Chinese friends. “Wevery much welcome Chinese friends and thank you for your support andcooperation,” he added. He said both China and Pakistan are developingcountries and they must support each other as the two countries understandthe problems and challenges that the other party faces.
Ambassador Khalid said, the relations between China and Pakistan havealways been relatively close, and they have been related to regionalissues, global issues, development and financial issues, and development.
Pakistan has benefited from China’s development experience, he said andadded, “There are many things that we have to study, such as achievementsin the development of China, as well as in all areas such as ruraldevelopment, agriculture, industry, information technology, science andtechnology, education, and so on.”
He said, in education, for example, the cooperation between our twocountries is thriving. There are about 22,000 Pakistani students studyingin China. They not only study professional courses, they are still learningChinese here, so one can imagine that they will be future China-Pakistanfriendship ambassadors.
Ambassador Khalid said, more people will come to China in the futurebecause China, Chinese culture, and Chinese language are all attractive,adding, “We need to learn Chinese and Chinese friends also need to learnPakistani (Urdu) and learn Pakistani culture.”
“We complement each other with cultures and complement each othereconomically, and our views on diplomacy tend to be consistent. There aremany aspects that we can learn from each other on the basis of mutualrespect and mutual benefit,” he added.
He believed that the relations between Pakistan and China will get betterand better, and the two countries will benefit more and more from it.
Regarding to a question about the last years 19th National Congress of theCommunist Party of China which marked the beginning of a new era ofsocialism with Chinese characteristics and painted a new blueprint forChina’s development in the coming decades, he said, it established China’sfuture development direction and is a milestone in Chinese history.
The meeting identified China’s future development strategy, includingeconomic development, and its role and contribution in internationalaffairs. Therefore, I think this is a great improvement for China and theworld. China has set goals for the next 20 years. China is now the secondlargest economy in the world and plays a very important role ininternational relations.
China has a proactive foreign policy. In terms of domestic affairs, it alsostrives to achieve the reunification of the motherland and the developmentof the country.
Therefore, the next 20 years are still of critical importance to China, andit is also crucial for it to fulfil its global obligations, he said.
He said after entering a new era, China will continue to be a leader in newtechnologies, innovations, and development.
On the impact of China’s development on the world, he said during past fiveyears, China’s contribution to the world economy is 15%, and itscontribution to global economic growth is 30%.
He said, President Xi Jinping not only continued to carry out reforms inthe past five years, but also launched a new type of internationalrelations based on mutual benefit and mutual respect. This will be of greatbenefit to the world.
He said looking at China’s development data is really surprising. China’saverage growth rate of 7.1% over the past five years has helped lift 68million people out of poverty.Ambassador Khalid said in the past 40 years, China has helped about 800million people out of poverty. China has helped 68 million people out ofpoverty in the past five years.
“We have worked with China to raise the level of agriculture becauseagriculture is the main economic industry in Pakistan and covers more than60% of the population,” he added.
Ambassador Khalid also congratulated the Chinese leadership for makingfar-reaching decisions under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.—APP