Pakistan and China are being brothers for the last seven decades as they have a very strong connection and this friendship is one of its own throughout the world. The 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan is a long time. We have fraternal relations with Pakistan because Pakistan is our close brotherly country.
The world is experiencing changes that have not happened in a whole century. Now the world is moving towards international peace instead of conflict. We are at a critical juncture in human history.
However, when it comes to the Pak-China friendship, some forces are working against it and want to sabotage China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, the relationship between the two countries. Both Pakistan and China believe that they would manage to foil such attempts with the help of each other and would take the Pak-China friendship to a new height by defeating all these forces.
These views were expressed by the Consul General of China in Karachi Li Bijian while addressing Photo Exhibition Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Pakistan, and the eighth anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institute for the Chinese Language at the University of Karachi on Monday.
The Confucius Institute for Chinese Language at the University of Karachi (CIUK) organized the event to celebrate the historic event.
On this occasion, he along with the KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi and Pakistani and Chinese directors of CIUK officially launch the split two + two year BS Chinese degree program.
The CG Li Bijian mentioned that initially, 20 students would take admission in this program, and later we would increase the number of seats for the students in this program. He also distributed the scholarships among the students of the CIUK.
He said that despite the differences in the political and social systems of the two countries, we have an excellent relationship and this will continue.
Earlier, the KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi said that Pakistan has an ideal relationship with China. The Chinese nation has made unforgettable progress in the field of economic. Pakistan should learn lessons from China for economic development and growth.
He observed that our governments could adopt Chinese economic policies as role models. He said that living in Pakistan we believe that this relation is based on geo-economics and geo-politics.
The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi mentioned that relationships are always based on mutual needs and we live in a world that is about economic growth and prosperity and hope that the promotion of a culture of globalization is benefiting all countries of the world as all the people of the world are connecting with it.
He added that establishing peace in the world is the need of the hour, for which coordination in all countries is very important.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Bank of China in Karachi Wang Jie said that 70 years ago, the founding leaders of China and Pakistan decided to join hands and advance together. Over the years, China-Pakistan friendship has flourished like a tree growing tall and strong.
He informed the audience that in Pakistan, people poetically describe our relationship as “higher than a mountain, deeper than oceans and sweeter than honey” while in China, Pakistan, as a sincere and reliable friend, is often called “Iron Brother”.
He expressed that China and Pakistan have conducted mutually beneficial and fruitful cooperation in various fields. To deliver more benefits to the people, the two countries currently are working closely together to advance the construction of CPEC.
He narrated that as the pilot flagship project of the Belt and Road initiative, CPEC also lays much significance on cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan. Confucius Institute is the cultural messenger and friendship disseminator.
Wang Jie added that the Bank of China has conducted various kinds of cooperation with the Confucius Institute in Pakistan, including business training, offering academic suggestions, and internship opportunities. Our bank, as well as all the Chinese enterprises, is willing to continuously support the development of the Confucius Institute in Pakistan.
The Chinese Director Professor Zhang Xiaoping said that the Pak-China friendship since 1951 is a great example of state-to-state friendly relations. The exhibition was scheduled to happen six months ago to celebrate the special day of May 21, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the plan was suspended till today and we are now celebrating our friendship which can stand the test of time and changes.
“Today we gather for the celebration of the eighth anniversary of the establishment of Confucius
Institute. Since 2013, CIUK has been devoted to the teaching of the Chinese language and culture, promoting people-to-people contact. Now we are the largest Chinese language center in Pakistan in terms of the number of teachers, students, teaching sites, and cultural programs. We believe localization is essential to the sustainable development of Chinese teaching in Pakistan.”
He shared that our goal is to develop CIUK into the training center of local teachers for Pakistan. To achieve this goal, we hire the largest number of local Chinese teachers, and this August we conducted the first in-service training for all Pakistan local teachers to improve their teaching ability. In September, we set up Internship Center at the Bank of China in Karachi to provide training for our students.
He said that we have now started the first split 2+2 BS Chinese program in Pakistan. This 2+2 BS Chinese program is hosted by the University of Karachi, Sichuan Normal University in China, and the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Chinese Education Ministry. The objective of the program is to train quality language talents, especially Chinese Teachers for Pakistan.
He mentioned that in this program students will study for two years at the University of Karachi and two years at Sichuan Normal University respectively. They will get a scholarship during their study in China and obtain a joint BS degree from both universities.
The Pakistani Director CIUK Professor Dr Nasiruddin Khan said that this institute started its work in 2017 with small faculty and limited resources. But now after eight years, we are recognized as one of the major and one of the most vibrant Confucius Institute not only in the region but worldwide.
He further said that we have the best teaching methodology and excellent infrastructure. Many renowned public and private universities and commercial organizations are affiliated with CIUK for teaching the Chinese language and Chinese culture.
Professor Dr Nasir Khan shared that during the last eight years, the institute regularly celebrated many important events like the independence days of Pakistan and China, the Chinese spring festival, The Moon festival, Eid Festivals, and many others.
“This year we have also achieved a big milestone by offering (2+2) split BS Chinese degree program from the academic year 2022, with the collaboration of our partner SNU, China. In the year 2022, we are also going to announce our exclusive two years, Applied Associate Degree program in Business Chinese.”
He shared that this program will be unique, not only in Pakistan but all over the world. “I am very much optimistic that this program will meet the growing demand of Chinese-speaking Pakistani’s for CPEC projects and other Chinese enterprises doing business with our country.”
According to him, CIUK is also celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. This is a great event for the people of both countries. The mutual trust and friendship between the two countries have gone through the test of 70 years of international changes and remain unshakable and has become the most valuable strategic asset for both countries. This cooperation is now extended to all important sectors, which will be mutually beneficial for both nations.
He informed the audience that during Covid-19, China’s supports for the fighting against pandemics is also unforgettable. The vaccine and the equipment provided by China to contain the lethal disease played a crucial role in saving precious human lives in Pakistan. The University of Karachi also received 7,000 face masks from its partner SNU at a very crucial timing when we needed them the most.
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