ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has unveiled an ambitious proposal under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), seeking to align its youth, exports, and regional connectivity with China’s growth model.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, briefing the media after the 14th meeting of the CPEC Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) in Beijing, said on Saturday afternoon that Pakistan had suggested 10,000 joint PhD scholarships in artificial intelligence, engineering, and emerging sciences at China’s top universities over the next decade. He described the move as a “knowledge corridor” to equip Pakistan’s youth with cutting-edge research skills for a technology-driven economy.
“The next two decades belong to the youth of Pakistan. By 2047, we aim to build a $3 trillion innovation-based economy with their contribution,” Iqbal remarked, stressing the need to train a new generation of Pakistani scholars and innovators in China’s premier institutions.
JCC also discussed joint research labs in AI and quantum computing, a CPEC Future Skills program in robotics, fintech, and biotechnology, and Pakistan’s proposal to secure ASEAN-level tariff concessions for its exports to China. Currently, Pakistan’s exports to China amount to only US $ 3 billion out of Beijing’s US $ 2 trillion annual imports.
CPEC Phase-II, Iqbal said, would revolve around five corridors: growth, livelihood, innovation, green energy, and regional connectivity. These include initiatives ranging from vocational training and poverty alleviation inspired by China’s success model, to climate resilience programs, Balochistan’s mineral corridor, and multimodal links to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Reassuring Beijing on security, the minister emphasized: “Chinese citizens in Pakistan are our family. Isolated attacks are foreign-sponsored designs that will not be allowed to derail this partnership.”
Highlighting China’s pivotal role, Iqbal described Pakistan-China ties as “iron-brotherhood” founded on trust, adding that Phase-I transformed Pakistan’s infrastructure while Phase-II will transform its people’s lives. –Agencies
