Pak-China cooperation to summit new heights: Ambassador Nong Rong

LAHORE – Nong Rong newly appointed Ambassador of China to Pakistan in an exclusive interview with Daily The Nation and Daily Nawa-i-Waqt has stated that it isa great honour to be posted as the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, and to shoulder the sacred mission of developing bilateral relations to a higher, wider and deeper range.

He said that with the guidance from Chinese and Pakistani leadership, and through joint efforts, he is confident to expect a closer China-Pakistan community of shared future in the new era.

He further said: “ever since assuming post over the last 4 months, I have made friends with Pakistani people of all circles, endeavoured to promote CPEC and cooperation and exchanges in various fields, and jointly fought against COVID-19 with great achievements made in vaccine cooperation. It is a kind of busy but fulfilling work, and I feel full of sense of accomplishment.”

Nong Rong said: “as an old Chinese saying goes meeting a good friend for the first time is like having a reunion with an old friend. This is my first visit to Pakistan, but I feel at home. The climate and plants here are quite similar to those in my hometown, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China. More importantly, I can feel the warmth of China-Pakistan friendship, as well as the high expectation for developing the friendship, both from the Pakistani government and people from all walks of life. Thus I have a better understanding of the term as”Iron Brother”for Pakistan. “

Nong Rong said, President Xi Jinping has said, Pakistan is a great country and is home to a splendid ancient civilisation.

People of Pakistan are kind, brave, dignified and confident, with an indomitable national character, he said.

We in China have great admiration for the people of Pakistan, and have full confidence in the future of Pakistan and China-Pakistan cooperation, he added.

In his interview talking about Pakistani food  he said he has tasted Pakistani food.

Pakistani cuisine is unique and the BBQ and naans are very similar to those in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, he added.

Urdu is a poetic language, and I’m trying to learn some daily conversations in Urdu. Everyone in the Chinese Embassy can say”Pak-Chin Dosti Zindabad”, he stated.

Nong Rong further said:”The 70-year history of the diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan is also a history of the two peoples treating each other heart-to-heart, as brothers and sisters. We always say China-Pakistan friendship is higher than the mountains, deeper than the sea, and sweeter than honey. We firmly believe that Pakistan is a good friend, a good neighbour, a good partner, and a good brother. The Chinese martyrs who died in Pakistan to build the Karakoram Highway, the Pakistani police who sacrificed to protect the Chinese Consulate General in Karachi. These ordinary people with extraordinary stories all contribute to the shaping of China-Pakistan friendship. This year the two countries will organise more than 100 colorful events in commemoration of the 70th anniversary. On  March 2, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister  Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Makdoom Qureshi jointly attended the launching ceremony, and released the official logo,which raised the curtain on the series of celebrations this year. These celebrations will make all sectors of society in both countries, especially the younger generation, enhance mutual understanding, and further to promote China-Pakistan friendship.”

The youth are the inheritors of China-Pakistan friendship and work  for the development of the two countries, he added.

the past two years, the number of Pakistani students studying in China has exceeded 28,000 each year, ranking third among all foreign students studying in China. More than 7,000 of them have received various scholarships from China, ranking first among all foreign students studying in China. This fully demonstrate the unique brotherly friendship between China and Pakistan,” he stated.

He said that in the cooperation of the social sector under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the two sides have specially formulated a scholarship programme for Pakistani students, which will provide more opportunities for outstanding youths of Pakistan to study in China and cultivate talents for the development of Pakistan.

We have 5 Confucius Institutes and 2 Confucius Classrooms in Pakistan to teach Chinese and Chinese culture, in the hope of helping the young generation of Pakistan to deepen knowledge and understanding of China, so as to consolidate the foundation for the friendship between the two countries, he added.

The Information Technology revolution in Pakistan is taking off and the market is huge, he said.

The cooperation between China and Pakistan in this field has a solid foundation and broad prospects, he said.

In terms of IT infrastructure, the Chinese company Huawei has completed the laying of optical cable from Khunjerab-Rawalpindi under the CPEC framework, he said.

He further said: “Mobile service company Zong enjoys the largest number of 4G active users and daily data flow in the industry, and is building a 5G innovation center in cooperation with Huawei. Ant Financial participated in the launch of Easypaisa, Pakistan’s first mobile financial service platform. In March last year, a new Joint Working Group on Science and Technology under CPEC was established under CPEC framework. The two governments have reached a high degree of consensus on strengthening cooperation in the information and technology industry in the future, which is believed to inject stronger impetus into Pakistan’s digitization.”

He said: A friend in need is a friend indeed. China and Pakistan are true friends and good brothers and have a tradition of mutual help.

“In the face of the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan have helped each other in a close manner. At the most difficult moment in China’s fight against the pandemic last year, Pakistan immediately donated medical materials to China. President Dr. Arif Alvi’s visit to China in March last year showed the firm support of Pakistan for China’s fight against the pandemic. When Covid cases surged in Pakistan, China provided successive batches of medical supplies, provided aids to construct isolation hospitals, and sent medical teams. After China’s vaccines were developed and available for purchase, the Chinese government and the military donated a total of 1 million doses of vaccines to Pakistan at the first time. Pakistan has become the first country to receive Chinese vaccine assistance abroad, both from the government and military channels. In the near future, the Chinese government will add another 500,000 doses of vaccines to Pakistan. China and Pakistan have set a good example of international anti-epidemic cooperation. I believe that China and Pakistan will finally overcome the epidemic thoroughly with joint hands. After the test of the pandemic, the iron friendship between China and Pakistan will be taken to a new high.”

He said: The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an important pilot project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since its establishment in 2013, it has maintained a positive development momentum, brought in a total of US$25.4 billion FDI to Pakistan and created 75,000 jobs at its peak. Even during the pandemic, CPEC projects proceeded uninterrupted, with no jobs cut and no staffs withdrawn, strongly supporting Pakistan’s economy and people’s livelihood. Currently, the two countries are busy preparing for the upcoming 10th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting. In the future, based on constructing and operating well of existing projects, both sides will further focus on cooperation in the fields of social-economic development, industry and agriculture, and strive to build a demonstration project for high-quality development of the BRI to better benefit the people of the two countries and the region.”

“China sets this target considering current situations and development potential of its economy. In 2020, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, China took the lead in controlling COVID-19 and resuming work and production. China’s total economic volume exceeded the 100-trillion-yuan threshold with an increase of 2.3 pc year-on-year basis, and becomes the only major economy that achieved positive economic growth last year. 2021 is the first year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. Based on the “dual circulation”development pattern, China will implement the new development philosophy and build a new development paradigm with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual cycles mutually promoting each other. To achieve this goal, China has both confidence and capability. For a long time, China’s economy has made significant contributions to world economic growth. In the process of achieving economic growth of more than 6 pc, China will surely create more international trade and investment opportunities, injecting vitality and impetus to the recovery and growth of the world economy. Countries around the world, including Pakistan, will share the dividends of China’s economic growth, he added.