ISLAMABAD, November 13: A round table discussion was organised by the Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) on Tuesday to discuss, “CPEC: The Way forward”.
The roundtable had keynote by Dr. Chen Wenling, Chief Economist of China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), affiliated with the State Council in Beijing, which is directly under Premier Li Keqiang.
Addressing the participants, Dr. Chen Wenling said, “China took a lot of time and invested a lot of hard work in reaching where it is today. China lifted 700 million people out of poverty and raised life expectancy to 85 years from 40 years.”
She said that China wants to see Pakistan progressing similarly and for this purpose China will always support Pakistan, with China has a relationship that is ‘exceptional’ and these special ties are with no other country.
She further said that Pakistan’s agricultural capacity should be utilized to stimulate growth and that she would want to see rapid development under CPEC alongside the route from Kashgar to Gwadar.
Dr. Chen Wenling also specifically focused on strengthening the Renminbi by trading in Chinese currency and subsequently improving the value of the Pakistani Rupee, which suffered significantly against the US dollar. Referring to the two countries, she emphasized that, “We must not get influenced by the pressures imposed by the external forces and continue to strengthen our bilateral relations.” – DNA
