Understanding the Educational and Cultural Aspects of CPEC.

C hina-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was initiated by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan in 2013. Chinese President Xi Jinping formally launched construction of CPEC on his state visit to Pakistan in 2015. CPEC construction pattern is featuring a central role of the CPEC and four key areas of economic cooperation including Gwadar port, energy, transportation infrastructure and industrial cooperation. Today, CPEC has become a pilot project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Over the past six years, remarkable achievements have been made in the four key areas of economic cooperation as a result of mutual efforts and work of the governments and people of China and Pakistan. It is frequently pronounced that under the framework of CPEC, 11 projects have been completed and 11 projects are under construction in the first phase. The projects mentioned here are mainly of energy and road ones such as Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant. Subsequently, the impact on the infrastructure improvement and economic growth of Pakistan has become the main topic of CPEC discussion.

That is to say, people take the areas of energy, road and infrastructure as the priority of CPEC construction. No doubt, the areas directly connected to economy under CPEC framework are very important. Moreover, the outcome of improving people's living circumstances becomes visible in a shorter time. For instance, the load shedding frequency and duration in Pakistani cities have been reduced to a considerable degree. However, the performance in the areas of educational and cultural collaboration under CPEC is noteworthy as well and we cannot turn a blind eye towards the progress of the said areas. They are manifested in fields such as Chinese language teaching and learning, educational institutions' collaboration and cultural tours and exchange, and so on.

1. Establishment of China study centers

   (CSCs) and Pakistan study centers (PSCs)The first China Study Center in Pakistan was set up at COMSATS Institute of Information and Technology, Islamabad, in 2012. With the launching of CPEC, more China study centers have been established at Pakistani universities and research institutes. Among others are CSCs of National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Government College University (GCU) and Peshawar University. According to the information respectively from Pak-China Institute and the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing, about 20 China study centers (CSCs)...