BEIJING, Sept 14 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari’s ongoing official visit to China has been long-expected by the Chinese people, and this visit bears great significance.
This was stated by Prof. Cheng Xizhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Charhar Institute, a non-governmental Chinese think-tank on diplomacy and international studies based in Beijing.
During the first leg of his visit, President Zardari attended and addressed the Second Golden Panda Awards International Culture Forum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China, highlighting the power of art and culture in uniting people and connecting civilizations.
President Zardari also reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for China’s vision of “civilization exchange and mutual learning”.
The Chinese scholar remarked that President Zardari’s attendance at this forum has injected new vitality into China-Pakistan cultural exchanges, mutual understanding and cultural recognition between the two peoples.
In Chengdu, President Zardari is inspecting province’s economic and social development. Sichuan Province has maintained close exchanges with Pakistan in such fields as trade and investment, agricultural cooperation, scientific and technological exchanges, educational cooperation, and cultural tourism.
The President’s visit will help showcase Sichuan’s development achievements and further promote cooperation between Sichuan and Pakistan in various fields, he added.
As part of his current visit to China, President Zardari will also travel to Shanghai, a major economic hub and international metropolis of China, which has achieved remarkable outcomes in such fields as finance, trade and technological R&D.
President Zardari’s visit to Shanghai is expected to explore opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in areas such as economy, trade and innovative technology, so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
Prof Cheng said that as the forefront of China’s westward opening-up, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region borders Pakistan and has obvious geographical advantages.
The President’s visit will further advance the development of connectivity in the China-Pakistan border areas, strengthen bilateral cooperation in such fields as trade exchanges, cross-border tourism and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and push forward the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a deeper and broader direction, he added.