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<\/p>\nISLAMABAD (Internews Pakistan): Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), under its flagship initiative \u201cFriends of Silk Road,\u201d organized a conference titled \u201cThe Five-Year Plan and China-Pakistan Future: Innovation, Youth Development, and Shared Opportunities\u201d in Islamabad today.<\/p>\n
The event brought together young influencers, journalists, researchers, and diplomats to discuss how China\u2019s new Five-Year Plan, green development and self-reliance agenda can translate into opportunities for Pakistan\u2019s youth and economy.<\/p>\n
In his opening remarks, Executive Director PCI, Mustafa Hyder Sayed, underscored that a key message emerging from the recent plenary session of the Communist Party of China is \u201cself-reliance,\u201d which he described as central to \u201cthe rejuvenation of Chinese civilisation\u201d after the \u201chundred years of humiliation.\u201d He emphasised that this drive for self-reliance \u201cis a very important opportunity for countries like Pakistan to engage with China, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative, of which CPEC is a very important part,\u201d provided Pakistan ensures a stable security environment to attract relocating Chinese industries.<\/p>\n
Mustafa Hyder Sayed highlighted China\u2019s leadership in green development at a time when \u201cthe world is facing an existential threat to life because of climate change\u201d and when some countries are \u201cwithdrawing from international partnerships and the Paris Agreement.\u201d Pointing to electric vehicles, renewable energy and green technologies, he said that \u201cChina is trailblazing in the realm of green development,\u201d and that Pakistan, as an agrarian economy vulnerable to flash floods and droughts, must seize this \u201cvery important opportunity to learn and partner with China.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also drew attention to the potential of industrial relocation from China\u2019s coastal provinces to Pakistan, noting that \u201chundreds and thousands of medium-sized enterprises from Guangdong and Zhejiang\u201d are looking to move to new markets. \u201cASEAN countries are seizing this opportunity, but we have yet to seize it,\u201d he warned, adding that Pakistan already has a ready-made platform in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: \u201cIt is not something new. It is an advanced mechanism which is there, with companies ready to come here, provided we have a stable security environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Speaking on the evolution of China\u2019s planning system, Nabila Jaffer, Head of China Study at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), explained that China is now preparing its 15th Five-Year Plan through a comprehensive process that \u201cinvolves people from the grassroot level to the top level in the process of planning.\u201d She noted that Chinese planning is \u201cmulti-sectoral and comprehensive,\u201d covering every area related to economic development, improving people\u2019s livelihoods and \u201cengaging constructively with the outside world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tracing China\u2019s development trajectory, Nabila Jaffer reminded participants that when the People\u2019s Republic of China was founded in 1949, \u201cthe two most important challenges were health and education,\u201d with life expectancy at just 37 years. She underlined how Chairman Mao\u2019s early focus on basic health services and compulsory nine-year education laid the foundation for later reforms, which from the 1980s onwards shifted China from a command economy and collective agriculture to market-oriented reforms, integration into global trade and, by 2001, WTO membership and rapid development.<\/p>\n
Journalist and anchor at Independent Urdu, Sehrish Qureshi, focused on how Pakistan can practically benefit from China\u2019s Five-Year Plans and innovation-driven growth model. She identified \u201cinnovation as a core driver of the economy,\u201d noting that China \u201cstarted from scratch\u201d and, through belief in the \u201cMade in China\u201d vision, has risen to stand \u201camong the top five economies of the world,\u201d offering lessons for Pakistan as a developing country.<\/p>\n
She stressed that Chinese technology cooperation has already strengthened Pakistan\u2019s security and global standing, observing that \u201cwe protected our land, we protected our honor in the global arena because of those technologies\u201d built and shared by China. Drawing on her experience training journalists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on CPEC reporting, she highlighted the importance of \u201ccountering misinformation and disinformation\u201d about China and CPEC through responsible media and fact-based narratives.<\/p>\n
Social media influencer Jehad Zafar underlined the positive impact of Chinese projects in Pakistan and the need to debunk unfounded criticism. He remarked that \u201cthere is no significant report which says that the coal projects under CPEC have harmed Pakistan,\u201d yet misinformation is rife, making it essential for media professionals and influencers to \u201cspread more and more positive impact of Chinese investment in Pakistan\u201d and \u201cdebunk fake news and misinformation\u201d about China-Pakistan cooperation.<\/p>\n
Jehad Zafar also stressed that \u201cthis is the century of Asia, and China is leading in all these developments,\u201d calling on regional countries to join groupings such as SCO, BRICS and the BRI \u201cfor the betterment of this region.\u201d Praising China\u2019s role in facilitating dialogue between countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he argued that \u201cpeace is a very important aspect\u201d because \u201cwithout peace we cannot pursue our regional connectivity goals,\u201d and urged Asian governments to prioritise work ethic and human resource development, which he described as \u201cthe actual power\u201d behind China\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n
His Excellency Yang Nuo, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of the People\u2019s Republic of China in Islamabad, described the conference as \u201cvery unique,\u201d saying it felt \u201clike a gathering of families, brothers and sisters,\u201d and welcoming the strong presence of young people who \u201cin China mean future and hope.\u201d Recalling Chairman Mao\u2019s famous remark to students that youth represent \u201cthe world at eight or nine o\u2019clock in the morning,\u201d he said he was moved by the participants\u2019 \u201csincere feelings towards China\u201d and \u201cvery good constructive suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acknowledging the challenges of misinformation in the digital age, Yang Nuo stressed that \u201ccommunication and interaction are very important, especially when there is so much fake news.\u201d He endorsed the idea of setting up a WhatsApp group of influencers and media participants so they can \u201cput forward good suggestions\u201d and help strengthen China-Pakistan cooperation. While recognising that \u201ceveryone talks about CPEC\u201d and that it \u201cmay be a game changer,\u201d he cautioned that \u201cCPEC is not the only solution\u201d and that long-term success requires \u201ccontinuous investment and a very good environment,\u201d including improved security and joint efforts from both sides.<\/p>\n
The conference was attended by students, researchers, media professionals, podcasters, and social media influencers, who engaged in an interactive discussion on innovation, youth development and the future of China-Pakistan cooperation. Pakistan-China Institute reaffirmed its commitment, through Friends of Silk Road, to providing a platform that connects policymakers, youth and opinion-makers to build a shared future based on connectivity, green development and people-to-people ties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD (Internews Pakistan): Pakistan-China Institute (PCI), under its flagship initiative \u201cFriends of Silk Road,\u201d organized a conference titled \u201cThe Five-Year Plan and China-Pakistan Future: Innovation, Youth Development, and Shared Opportunities\u201d in Islamabad today. The event brought together young influencers, journalists, researchers, and diplomats to discuss how China\u2019s new Five-Year Plan, green development and self-reliance agenda […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-69376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-pakistan"},"yoast_head":"\n