ISLAMABAD: Ever-growing strategic relations between Pakistan and China were the bedrock of regional peace and stability, said Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday. She said this during a meeting with Jiang Jianguo, director, Information Office of the State Council (Minister) of People’s Republic of China. She said Pakistan and China had exemplary friendship which had withstood the vicissitudes of time due to the fact that they were based on mutual trust, deep harmony, love and respect. The minister said the people of both countries were tied together in an eternal connect, steeped in emotions of affinity. She emphasised that the relationship between the two states was deeper than oceans, higher than Himalayas and stronger than steel. She added that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of China’s “One belt One Road” initiative, would bring prosperity to the people of China, Pakistan, South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East. The CPEC, not only entails greater connectivity and trade linkage between Pakistan and China through a network of roads, rail, fibre optic cable, energy pipelines and industrial clusters but will also prove to be a game-changer that benefits the entire region, she said. Marriyum said that cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts were one of the essential ingredients of maintaining and enhancing friendly bilateral ties between the two countries. She said various modes of mass media could be instrumental to promoting and projecting each other’s culture, heritage and values. She also underscored the need for stronger collaboration in the field of film production and broadcast industry, adding that the films are a very strong medium for strengthening cultural ties between the two friendly states. The minister also apprised Jianguo about the recent launch of film club with the Chinese film show “Postman in the Mountains” under the auspicious of Pakistan National Council of Arts and stressed the need for paying more attention to entertainment industry as it was a very powerful tool for global connectivity. She also proposed exchange of cultural troupes and prominent artists on regular basis to strengthen cultural ties.