Islamabad: The Assistant Minister for International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) Central Committee Li Jun said that China will not allow the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to be a failure. It was said that the project represents the shared destiny of the people of China and Pakistan.

In an interview Li Jun said that China was ready to help Pakistan become the next Asian tiger by implementing CPEC effectively. Emphasis was laid on bilateral cooperation and engagement between the two countries which would benefit both the nations. He added that strategic composure was needed to achieve the targets and the easy targets should be achieved first and the difficult ones should be achieved later so that the project could be completed on time.

The Minister also called out for major media drives so that the people are more aware of what the projects have to offer. He added that CPEC is the largest scale investment and cooperation project China has conducted overseas. Pakistan and China will be the major beneficiaries of the project and it would help to improve the living standard of the people.

Li said that proactive public campaigns need to be launched on CPEC so that the people understand the significance of the project and get involved in it themselves. CPEC boosts economic growth and infrastructure development in the entire region.

CPEC is a flagship project of the Belt and Road initiative which is why it has energy, infrastructure, industrialization and free economic zones. CPEC would also bridge China with other South Asian counties it was said. China is ready to engage in the timely completion of economic and infrastructure projects in CPEC he said.

Pakistan was one of the first few countries and the first Islamic country which recognized China after the Second World War. He added that Pakistan and China have stood together with each other despite the geographical, international and domestic fronts. The Chinese minister added that his visit was aimed at strengthening the bilateral relations with the political parties and CPC.

The Minister said he held meetings with Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Chairman of Pakistan’s Peoples Party, Chief Minister Punjab, JUI-F Chief, Pakistan Muslim League President and KPK Governor. Meetings were also held with top scholars of the country at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS).

The Chinese government is working on strengthening China’s economy and the governments five year plan covers the macro economy of China. The Chinese economy would become more innovative in the next five years and would start focusing on scientific and technological project’s more it was said.

He also added that the Chinese government would evolve the balance of the rural and urban population and urbanization ratio would be kept at 60 percent. The Chinese government would also be promoting green lifestyles in public and the development of modern trends.

The Minister also commented on the Afghan peace process and said that China wants Pakistan to play a significant role to bring peace to Afghanistan. He said China supports Afghan owned peace process and would extend their support for the quadrilateral cooperation group. He said efforts of both China and Pakistan would bring peace and prosperity to Afghanistan.