BEIJING: Ten Pakistanis started a two-year postgraduate course at a Chinese university as part of a commercial sponsorship programme designed to offer full scholarships to 100 Pakistani transport personnel in the next five years.
The programme is funded by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The first batch of ten students will attend Southeast University in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, a Chinese media outlet reported on Tuesday.
The scheme provides an opportunity for Pakistani government staff, technicians and graduates to study construction and operation of bridges and roads at Chinese universities, according to CRBC Chairman Lu Shan.
National Development and Reform Commission official Chen Shuai said, “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is not only a corridor of physical connectivity but also one of people-to-people exchanges.”
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is part of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along — and beyond — the ancient Silk Road trade routes.