CCCPC delegation visits IPS

Pak-China intellectual exchanges stressed

In this era of globalization, Pakistan and China should strengthen their relationship by increasing mutual understanding and building intellectual linkages between universities, think tanks, institutions, media and scholars of both the countries.

These views were expressed by Ai Ping, vice minister of the international department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC) who visited Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), here on Tuesday, along with a six-member official delegation of his department.

Ai Ping said that Pakistan and China enjoyed age old relations and these sentiments of mutual respect and cooperation should be passed on to the coming generations as well. He said that the new crop was gradually taking over the older one at the helm, thus it was essential for them to continue this tradition of friendship with similar preceding spirits.

Speaking on the occasion, DG-IPS Khalid Rahman said that the warmth of Pak-China relationship was not only limited to the governing authorities but it can easily be felt at the grass root level as well. The people in Pakistan generally appreciate the joint ventures of the two countries.

Throwing light on the regional scenario, Khalid Rahman said that the situation of Afghanistan was one of the main challenges Pakistan was faced with as its fallout will have a significant impact on the country. He said that apparently United Nations was only towing the policies of the international powers which have vested interests in the region. He suggested that China can play a significant role in this regard by persuading UN to deal with the issue in a neutral and unbiased manner.

The delegates also discussed the relations of India and China, underlining the effect of emerging relations between India and the US. They expressed that China remains an economic and strategic threat to both the countries and their bilateral ties can have quite an impact on China. The country however intends to counter the situation by rightly focusing on strengthening its economic front.

The discussants agreed that China’s economic growth should be seen as a development opportunity for whole region as its partners and neighboring countries will also benefit considerably from the country’s progress.