Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said that China is a major export market for Pakistani products and the government is working together to further enhance the access of Pakistani products to the untapped sector of the Chinese market. “Our two countries have a robust trade and investment cooperation, which is very essential for Pakistan’s economy. As our largest trading partner, China is a major export market for Pakistani products, and we are working together to further enhance the access of Pakistani products to untapped sectors of the Chinese markets,” he said while talking to The Nation and Nawa-i-Waqt dailies. The ambassador said Pakistan takes pride in its special friendship with China which is time-tested and timeless. “Our relations with China are based on strong political support, strategic trust and practical cooperation. A heart-to-heart relationship between our two peoples enjoying support across the political spectrum. No wonder, this friendship remains the cornerstone of our foreign policy.” Ambassador said that China has recently lifted its Covid-related travel restrictions and opened up international travel. This naturally has a positive impact on various sectors of the Chinese economy, including trade and tourism. The re-opening has resulted in enhanced bilateral interaction between our two countries. Many high-level visits took place in the last few months. As China-Pakistan celebrate the Year of Tourism Exchanges this year, both countries are looking forward to enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Talking about ML-1, he said, in line with the leadership consensus, the relevant institutions from both sides are making earnest efforts to finalize all arrangements and launch the project this year. During the Covid-19 pandemic, China provided us critical support, especially in supplying over 160 million vaccine doses which were the mainstay of our inoculation drive. China was the top country in providing generous assistance after the unprecedented floods of last year. Talking about Pakistani students, he said, China is a popular and the largest destination for Pakistani students. The pre-Covid figure stands at 28,000 students enrolled all across China in various disciplines, including medicine, engineering, IT, science, humanities, and modern arts, among others. After the lifting of Covid-related travel restrictions, students already enrolled in different disciplines have started coming back to resume on-campus classes along with new entrants. Talking about his professional career, he said, I have had a career spanning more than three and a half decades in the foreign service of Pakistan. During this time, I had a number of assignments at the headquarters and at the Missions abroad. Before my appointment to China in August 2020, I was serving as Pakistan’s Ambassador to France. When I landed here, face-to-face interactions with the community was a bit difficult because of Covid. However, this did not stop us for keeping regular engagement with them through online meetings and launching various initiatives for the community. The first priority was to begin the repatriation of Pakistani students to China, who had been stranded because of the closing of borders and the across-the-board restrictions on the travelling of international students back to China. Pakistan was among the first few countries whose students returned to China after Covid, he said. Another key objective was to ensure community’s enhanced access to the embassy, for which we introduced a digital registration system. We also launched a dedicated professionals forum, an important platform for Pakistani professionals to engage, discuss and give suggestions for enhanced cooperation between China and Pakistan. Thirdly, we launched an online portal for Pakistani students and professionals, where they can connect, share their achievements, experiences and network for their job hunt in China and Pakistan. The students and aspiring professionals can share their CVs and find potential employment opportunities. During my almost three years in China, serving the Pakistani community has been a privileged and a priority. I firmly believe that overseas Pakistanis, who are our assets hardworking, vibrant and patriotic and play a key role as Pakistan’s ambassador in promoting its interests and strengthening relationships with the host countries. To further bolster our people-to-people ties, China and Pakistan decided to celebrate 2023 as China-Pakistan Year of Tourism Exchanges. In this year, both our sides would be carrying on a series of activities to celebrate our friendship, raise awareness about each other’s tourism potential and welcome tourists from each other’s countries. We have increased the visibility of Pakistani tourist landscapes on Chinese social media platforms with targeted marketing companies.