Pakistan to make efforts to promote Chinese language for closer bond: PM

People look at posters made by Pakistani students to celebrate the United Nations Chinese Language Day at the Confucius Institute at Faisalabad Agricultural University, in Faisalabad, Pakistan, April 19, 2024. (Photo by Sumair Zafar/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that efforts are being made to promote the teaching of the Chinese language and literature both at the governmental and private levels in Pakistan.

In his message on the 15th United Nations Chinese Language Day, Sharif said that his country aims to strengthen the bond between the peoples of the two countries by promoting the Chinese culture and language in his country.

Talking about the global significance of the Chinese language, he said that it represents the millennia-old cultural heritage of China.

"Over the decades, China has made significant economic strides, making its mark globally, while its culture and language continue to gain popularity worldwide," he added.

It is undeniable that the Chinese language has become a major means of communication globally, which is among the official languages of the United Nations, Sharif said.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has accelerated economic and cultural ties between Pakistan and China, he said, adding that the number of people learning the Chinese language in Pakistan is increasing rapidly following the initiation of the multi-billion-U.S.-dollar project, which is further enhancing the ties between the two nations.

Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while the second phase expands to the areas of agriculture and improving people's livelihood, among others.