BEIJING, : Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque on Monday said that enhanced media cooperation between Pakistan and China would help two countries to evolve a correct and objective narrative of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for both domestic and international audience.
It is imperative for media organizations and opinion-makers of the two countries to devise a concerted and sustained media strategy to expose ill intentions of adversaries and highlight success and significance of CPEC.
He made these remarks while addressing 6th CPEC Media Forum hosted and organized by the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, China-Economic Net and Pakistan China Institute.
Ambassador Haque pointed out that despite BRI’s universal success and CPEC’s visible and tangible dividends for Pakistan, some voices in certain countries have taken a highly prejudiced view of CPEC to undermine its accomplishments and obfuscate its future possibilities and expansion.
They resort to wishful distortion of facts and fabrication of lies.
“It is ironical that this propaganda is spearheaded by those who claim to be the flag-bearers of economic integration, regional connectivity and transparency and openness,”he added.
He proposed that the media houses of the two countries should undertake a fair and objective assessment of BRI and highlight its universal legitimacy and success for spurring economic growth and development in partner countries.
“And at the same time, the discourse on CPEC should particularly bring to fore its concrete and tangible achievements for addressing Pakistan’s energy crisis, expansion of our development infrastructure and role in socio-economic prosperity for people of Pakistan, “he added.
He suggested that media should galvanise public support for bilateral relations, educate masses about the historic significance of bilateral friendship and its strategic importance for both countries, adding, “No media strategy is successful without stirring hearts of our peoples to the symphony of friendship.”
Emphasising a need of expanding bilateral cultural linkages and people-to-people ties, he said that special media campaigns to advance our historical experiences, common Asian values and cultural affinities should be initiated.
As arts and drama are the best reflection of a nation’s philosophy and culture, the entertainment industries of two countries should forge strong linkages and promote our dramas, movies and music, he added.
He said there is a lot of interest in forging partnership for screening of Pakistani and Chinese movies in each other countries and also for joint production of films.
Ambassador Haque informed that Pakistan and China will be celebrating 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries next year. The next year also marks the centennial of Communist Party of China.
“So media houses of the two countries should organise special programmes, documentaries and seminars to celebrate this important milestone and renew our resolve to take our ties to new heights, “he added.
Appreciating the role of media during the pandemic, he said that it not only played a key role in fighting the disease but also assisted the governments to raise awareness about the disease and preventive measures.
He remarked that the media cooperation between the two nations has played a historic role to promote the bilateral relations and it is also due to the professionalism and patriotism of our media organizations and journalists that Pakistan-China friendship has evolved into “Iron Brotherhood and All-Weather Ties” permeating across all sections of our societies.
Pakistan, he said, is one of the earliest and enthusiastic proponents of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative and has emphatically endorsed its philosophy for win-win cooperation and regional economic integration.
As the pilot project of BRI, CPEC stellar success is a testimony of it that Pakistan has now surmounted the chronic energy crisis and laid out a solid infrastructure network for subsequent national development and growth. Phase-II of CPEC is now aimed at people-centric progress to make it a high-quality demonstration project of BRI.
He said that two days back, the meeting of CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination was held in Urumqi. In the meeting, it was ensured that CPEC remains an open, transparent and inclusive, therefore the two countries have decided and agreed to open up CPEC to 3rd party participation.
He said that friendship between Pakistan and China is not merely the result of convergence of bilateral interests but, in fact, determined by geography, history and culture.
As Prime Minister Imran Khan said that future of Pakistan and China is co-related, so the relationship has been sustained by successive governments and generations of people.
“While our close ties and partnership is a factor of peace and stability, it is also a target of our detractors. So our media, therefore, needs to play a crucial role to help nurture our historic ties, educate our peoples, promote our stories of friendship and continue advancing new and innovative ideas for achieving our shared destiny.”
“Playing this role successfully would be a great service to our friendship, regional stability and most significantly, for the prosperity of our peoples,” he added.
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