BEIJING: Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yangand, who is an ardent of Pakistan-China friendship, was elected as the chairman of the country’s top political advisory body on Wednesday.
In August, 2017, he attended the 70th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence at the invitation of the Pakistani government.
Wang received full votes from the 2,144 delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of People in Beijing. They also elected 24 vice-chairs and standing committee members for a new five-year term until 2023.
He was elevated to the ruling Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee in October.
During his stay in Pakistan, Wang had a meeting with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. During the meeting, he noted that Pakistan and China were “iron friends” and all-weather partners of strategic cooperation who always understood and supported each other.
He went on to say that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s successful visit to Pakistan in 2015 had started a new chapter of the relations between the two countries. China would like to join hands with Pakistan to well implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and ensure that more fruitful results would be achieved in bilateral cooperation, he added.
Regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Wang expressed hope for the two countries to strengthen their coordination and make a good plan and design from a long-term and top-level perspective.
While hailing the fruitful cooperation in various economic fields over the past years, especially in the CPEC construction, Wang suggested that in the near future, the two countries put emphasis on ensuring early harvests in the CPEC project.
Wang said that based on the principle of jointly building through consultation to meet the interests of both sides, China and Pakistan should work together to further accelerate the construction of Gwadar Port.
He further said that the two sides should push forward energy cooperation in the fields of thermal power, hydropower, solar energy, clean energy, implement infrastructure cooperation projects such as highways, railways, urban rail facilities, deepen cooperation in industrial parks and strengthen personnel training. China and Pakistan should further tap the potential in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, maintain the growing momentum in bilateral trade to promote trade balance, he added.
Wang had further proposed that the two sides should also boost cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, culture, health and media in a bid to consolidate the social basis of the Pakistan- China friendship.
China’s national legislature hears draft supervision law, cabinet reshuffle plan:
Chinese lawmakers on Tuesday heard a draft supervision law and a reshuffle plan on the State Council, or the cabinet, at the ongoing national legislative session.
Chinese leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng attended the fourth plenary meeting of the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC).
NPC deputies adopted a decision on special committees of the 13th NPC and a voting method for their chairpersons, vice chairpersons and members.
According to the decision, the 13th NPC would have ten special committees which would cover areas such as ethnic affairs, constitution and law, foreign affairs, environmental protection, agriculture and rural affairs.
At the meeting, the NPC deputies adopted a name list of chairpersons, vice chairpersons and members of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee and the NPC Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.
On March 19, they would decide about the personnel of the other eight committees.
