Our Correspondent
Beijing
Pakistan Ambassador to China Naghmana Hashmi has said that the bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and China has now touched US $19.08 billion and both countries aim at raising it further. The bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and China has now touched $19.08 billion. We aim at raising it further, she said in her article published in China Daily.
Ambassador Hashmi said that joint ventures in defence production have led to the manufacture of the MBT 2000 Al-Khalid Tank and JF-17 Thunder, a fighter aircraft. On the diplomatic front, the two countries are committed to protecting and promoting multilateralism and upholding the UN Charter, while our cooperation has extended to science and technology, socioeconomic sectors and nuclear cooperation for peaceful purposes, she said.
Pakistan and China is historically connected through the cultural and knowledge corridor. More than 1,000 years ago, famous Chinese monks such as Fa Xian and Xuan Zang travelled to South Asia (modern-day Pakistan) to study Buddhism. The famous book Journey to the West lists the names of areas in Pakistan, like Peshawar, Swat, Taxila, and Kashmir that Fa Xian and Xuan Zang travelled to.
Remarkably, these days around 28,000 Pakistani students are studying in top Chinese universities. Likewise, Chinese students are studying in universities and centres of excellence in Pakistan. The number of visitors from China has exceeded the accumulated number of visitors from the rest of the world.
Ambassador Hashmi said that people-to-people contact and cultural exchanges have increased. Hence, despite different political systems, social orientations, cultural roots and heritage, Pakistan and China are a unique example of civilizational harmony and peaceful coexistence.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is also a revival of the ancient Silk Road.
