Back
B&R
China willing to see Pakistan achieve fast growth with BRI: culture foundation president
4 Aug 2021

 

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to lead people across the world to live a good life and China is willing to see Pakistan obtain fast growth through cooperation under the initiative, said Geng Ying, president of the China Cultural Heritage Foundation.

 

Geng founded the foundation in 2007 and is devoted to cultural exchanges with countries and regions along the BRI routes.

 

For her contribution to China-Pakistan friendship in the fine arts, Geng was awarded the Sitara-i-Pakistan, or Star of Pakistan, by Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque on behalf of the country's president at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing in October 2020.

 

"My bond with the neighboring country derived from the influence of my father Geng Biao, who was a Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan,” Geng told the Belt and Road Portal.

 

"My father highly valued the friendship between the two countries, which influenced me quite a lot.”

 

The year 2011 marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. To celebrate the 60th anniversary, Geng produced Oriental Charm: Chinese Cultural Trip to Pakistan, a special traditional Chinese culture series.

 

"We organized some Chinese artists and successors of the intangible cultural heritage to visit Pakistan, aiming to further strengthen Pakistanis’ understanding of China.”

 

The Oriental Charm series showcased traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, paper-cuts, dough figurines and traditional opera in France, Sweden, Denmark, the US and India.

 

The series played a positive role in promoting people-to-people bonds, which is one of the five cooperation priorities of the BRI, Geng noted.

 

In 2014 the foundation signed a memorandum for medical and nursing staff training with Pakistan. The first class on liver transplant techniques was held in 2015 in cooperation with the Tianjin First Central Hospital.

 

The foundation set up the Belt and Road Fund in 2016 and in 2017 signed cooperation agreements with Pakistan focusing on cultural heritage protection, public welfare undertakings and the culture industry.

 

"China is willing to see Pakistan obtain fast growth through the BRI,” Geng said. “We’re not likely to offer a big help, but will do what we can for those in need.”

 

The greatest wish for the Chinese people was to live a peaceful, stable and good life, Geng noted, “which is what we hope that people around the world could have. The BRI adopts peaceful methods to achieve this goal.”

 

Source: Belt and Road Portal