20,000 Pak students to receive Chinese scholarships

In an aim to push for bolstering people-to-people contacts between the two countries, China on Monday said that about 20,000 Pakistani students will be given Chinese scholarships every year, the highest for any country in the world.

China's Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing made the announcement, saying that it would strengthen the already friendly ties between the two nations.

"It is the people who matter in relationship," he was quoted by The News International as saying at a 'China-Photo Exhibition' held at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) here.

Terming the multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as a "long-term project", the Chinese envoy said that both Beijing and Islamabad reached a consensus and the next phase of the initiative would focus on investment, joint ventures, cooperation in the power sector and exports and establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Ambassador Yao further said that the second area of focus for bilateral cooperation in the CPEC project was the social sector, adding that the key areas were health, education, agriculture, poverty reduction and human resources.