Commemorations marking 70 years of Pakistan-China diplomatic ties were kicked off with a Webinar, organised by Pakistan-China Institute under the banner of “Friends of Silk Road”, which had distinguished speakers from Pakistan and China.

“China has directly invested over $25 billion in CPEC,”  Nong Rong, China’s Ambassador to Pakistan said during the event.

He said that the bilateral relationship was being further cemented through mutual support and high level consultations and visits. He said China has so far invested $ 25.4 billion in CPEC since its inception, creating 75,000 jobs for Pakistanis and he added, ‘no Pakistani worker was laid off during the pandemic from any CPEC project’.

He said Pakistan is the first country to get a donation of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine and he said that the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will ‘strive to narrow the trade deficit and deepen economic cooperation’. Ambassador Nong Rong said that the upcoming meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), which is the apex body on CPEC, will focus on socio-economic development, industry and agriculture. He also said that 100 million Chinese had benefited from the elimination of rural poverty in China.

Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and former DG, ISI General Ehsan ul Haq termed “security cooperation as a significant core area of Pakistan-China relations”. He said that “75-80 per cent of Pakistani defence equipment comes from China and Pakistan accounts for 35 per cent of China’s military exports”.