A 12-member Pakistani media delegation has paid a five-day visit of China to enhance cooperation and deepen mutual understanding between the media of the two countries.

The delegation arrived here at the invitation of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, under the joint organization of Economic Daily – China Economic Net, POWERCHINA and Huawei toured Beijing and Shenzhen during their stay in China.

Members of the delegation included Vice President Tahir Farooq of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), as well as senior journalists from mainstream media in Pakistan including The Nation, The News, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), Dunya Media
Group, ARY News, Pakistan Today, the Pakistan Observer, and the Daily Urdu.

Deputy Director-General Yao Wen at the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant officials met with the members of the delegation and exchanged views with the guests on topics such as China’s economic development, the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the media cooperation between the two nations.

During its tour to POWERCHINA, the delegation visited the urban rail transit and water environment management projects undertaken by the company, and listened to an introduction to the company’s business development in Pakistan.

They expressed their admiration for the achievements of POWERCHINA in the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. According to the delegation, Pakistan had faced frequent power outages caused by a shortage of electricity, which seriously affected the normal life of residents and the production and operations of industrial manufacturing.

As the first implemented energy project of the “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor”, the Qasim coal-fired power plant constructed by POWERCHINA has played a vital role in alleviating the power shortage, promoting the local economic development and improving the people’s life in Pakistan.

According to a report compiled by Economic Daily – China Economic Net, so far, the 2×660MW Port Qasim coal-fired power plant has generated 6.6 billion kWh of electricity this year. Since it was put into operation, it has generated 14.4 billion kWh of electricity, greatly alleviating the local power shortage.

At the peak of the project construction, more than 3,000 Pakistani employees were employed, accounting for 55% of all the construction workers. Since the power plant was put into commercial operation, it has provided more than 600 long-term jobs for the local people, and the accumulated tax payment has exceeded USD225 million, making great contributions to the economic development of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, great importance is attached to the green development of the power plant. The production and domestic water comes from seawater desalination. Accumulatively, the total amount of desalinated seawater has exceeded 98 million tons. The production and domestic wastewater is recycled after purification to achieve “zero” discharge of wastewater.

Moreover, mangroves are planted in a 125-acre radius of the power plant, effectively protecting and improving the ecological environment around the power plant.

When the media delegation visited Economic Daily – China Economic Net, President Wang Xudong, Editor-in-chief Cui Jun of China Economic Net introduced the exchanges and cooperation between Economic Daily – China Economic Net and the Pakistani media over the years, presented the cooperative TV programs, written reports in languages such as English and Urdu, as well as achievements of media exchange activities, and invited the delegation members to attend the 5th China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Media Forum to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan in middle and late November.

The forum is sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and co-sponsored by the Pakistan-China Institute and China Economic Net. Among the first four sessions, two were held in Beijing and two were held in Islamabad.

The delegation responded eagerly and expressed the hope to attend the 5th China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Media Forum. They also spoke highly of and showed great regard for the contributions of Economic Daily – China Economic Net in timely disseminating relevant information on Pakistan’s economic and social development and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, actively assisting Pakistani products to enter the Chinese market, and promoting the exchanges between the Chinese and Pakistani media.

After the three-day visit in Beijing, the delegation went to the headquarters of Huawei in Shenzhen. The delegation visited the Huawei R&D Center and fully experienced Huawei’s 5G technology at a short distance, including the complete 5G ecosystem which encompasses the 5G Ultra-Lean Site, 5G Terminal, 5G-Ready Transport Network, 5G Core Network and 5G Application Scenario.

According to Guo Fulin, president of international media affairs at Huawei, since entering the Pakistani market in 1998, Huawei has maintained strong growth momentum.

In 2018, Huawei’s share in the Pakistani smartphone market rose to second place. In the same year, Huawei paid USD43 million taxes to Pakistan and became one of the top 50 taxpayers in Pakistan.
He revealed that Huawei’s accumulated tax payment in Pakistan during the 21 years had exceeded USD300 million, and local purchases totaled USD1.5 billion accumulatively.

Guo Fulin said that Huawei’s large-scale investment also made great contributions to the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry in Pakistan.

At present, Huawei is cooperating with more than 500 local Pakistani partners, which indirectly creates more than 25,000 jobs. Huawei now has more than 1,500 employees in Pakistan, 91% of whom are Pakistani citizens.

Additionally, Huawei is also committed to cultivating local professionals in Pakistan through projects such as the Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA, also called the Huawei ICT Academy). So far, Huawei has cooperated with 15 universities in Pakistan. Huawei plans to build another seven Huawei ICT academies in Pakistan in 2019 to train 3,000 ICT professionals.

In addition to extensive exchanges with Chinese enterprises, the delegation also participated in some cultural exchange projects between China and Pakistan.

Pakistani Ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi had a symposium with the members of the delegation.

Since the beginning of this year, under the arrangement and coordination of the Chinese Embassy and consulates in Pakistan, Economic Daily – China Economic Net has received four Pakistani media delegations, playing an important role in deepening the mutual understanding between the Chinese and Pakistani media, enhancing the cooperation between the Chinese and Pakistani media, and improving the Pakistani media’s knowledge of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

APP