Interview: China-Pakistan cooperation thrives via economic corridor

URUMQI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- "China-Pakistan cooperation will be ever-lasting" along their thriving economic corridor, said Sabeen Usman Khattak, executive director of the Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, serves as a "physical friendship" between both countries, Khattak told Xinhua on the sidelines of the sixth World Media Summit (WMS) held in Beijing and Xinjiang from Oct. 12 to Oct. 17.

Launched in 2013, the CPEC is a corridor linking the Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation and is expanding to the fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others.

Khattak, who has made multiple visits to Gwadar Port, said that in the past, most of the people there were unemployed, but local employment has significantly improved since the launch of the CPEC.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Monday that China is ready to work with Pakistan to build an "upgraded version" of the CPEC, accelerate the construction of major projects in areas such as railways, highways and ports, strengthen industrial integration, deepen practical cooperation in agriculture, mining, information technology, and energy, to ensure bilateral cooperation benefits the people more broadly.

Li made the remarks in his meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Khattak said China, through the CPEC, has not only advanced the development of Gwadar Port but also that of Pakistan as a whole.

This year's WMS has drawn media professionals worldwide to Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang. Khattak said she felt a deep sense of connection during her visit to the region.

"China is like a second home to me," she said. "It's not like any other country in the world."