Economic corridor links China, Pakistan dreams

BEIJING -- The proposed economic corridor between China and Pakistan will connect the dreams of the two countries, experts have said.

The China Dream refers to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, while a similar dream in Pakistan is called making the country into an Asian tiger.

The notion was raised and well received at the two-day First Annual Meeting of China-Pakistan Thinks Tanks that concluded Sunday. The event was co-hosted by the Tsinghua University's Center for Pakistan Culture and Communication Studies, the China-Pakistan Joint Think Tank at Pakistan's National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and the Chinese Academy of World Agendas.

The economic corridor project connecting Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the southwestern Pakistani port of Gwadar was proposed by an important agreement between the two countries reached during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Pakistan in May.

Experts forecasted that the projects might include road and railway, in addition to optical-fiber link and even pipeline.

The building of the corridor would help China achieve its rejuvenation, while in the meantime upgrade Pakistan's economy, which is vital to its Asian dream, according to Shamshad Ahmed, former foreign secretary of Pakistan.

Massod Khalid, Pakistan Ambassador to China, addressed the meeting and said that the corridor is of great significance as it fits China's needs in developing its far west region.

Zhou Gang, former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, said that the corridor would even benefit people of countries in South Asia and make profound contribution in maintaining regional stability as well as economic integration.

Besides the corridor project, the meeting also covered other topics including the bilateral ties, the regional security after 2014 and cooperation in economy, science and technology as well as culture and education.

During the meeting, the Association of Chinese and Pakistani Scholars was set up and Tsinghua University also handed out the second batch of "the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Diplomacy" to two laureates: senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed and Wang Shaofeng, vice-general manager of China Water & Electric International Investment Limited (CWEI).

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed is also chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute and the Committee on Defense and Defense Production of the Pakistan Senate.

The next annual meeting is expected to be held in Pakistan in spring 2014.