BEIJING: Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting, National History and Literary Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a “harbinger of shared economic prosperity and peace” in the region.
She said this in her meeting with Jiang Jianguo, vice minister of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC), and the Minister of State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing.
She is on a four-day official visit to China at an invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture.
Welcoming the minister, Jiang Jianguo said that it was a pleasure to receive her on her first official visit to China. He said that their two people and countries shared a high level of mutual trust, respect and friendship.
He further said that the CPEC being the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was an initiative for the shared future of the region. The minister also shared pleasant memories of his visit to Pakistan in 2017.
Ms Marriyum Aurangzeb thanked the Minister of SCIO for their warm hospitality. She termed this visit to China a visit to her home. She said that Pakistan and China were carrying a legacy of cooperation, the foundations of which were laid by their ancestors.
She said that BRI, a vision of President Xi Jinping, would change not only the destiny of people of China but would also benefit the people of the region and beyond.
She said that since assuming power in 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had successfully added 11,000 MW electricity to overcome the energy crisis with the assistance of China.
She expressed her desire for enhanced cultural and media contacts by sharing cultural norms and exchanging media delegations and called for closer co-operation in the field.
The minister said that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its manifestations and forms and had achieved success in combating it, which was borne out by the fact that terrorist attacks, which were 2600 in 2013, had reduced by 82pc to 160.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khalid was also present on the occasion and said that SCIO was playing a very important role in sharing the Chinese vision with the world. He said that support of SCIO was crucial in enhancing media cooperation.
The ambassador said that currently 22,000 Pakistani students are studying in China and they will be permanent ambassadors of Pak-China friendship.
Mariyyum Aurangzeb had arrived in the Chinese capital earlier in the day. She was received by Luo Sugang, Pakistan Khalid Masood and senior Chinese and Pakistani officials at the airport.
During her stay in the Chinese capital, the minister will hold separate meetings with Chinese Minister for Culture Luo Sugang, Minister of the State Council Information Office Jiang Jianguo and Vice Minister of SAPPRFT Tong Gang and discuss ways and means to further promote all-weather friendship and strategic partnership between Pakistan and China.
Marriyum Aurangzeb will also sign an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Culture to further enhance cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts between the two countries.