ISLAMABAD, ):Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday while expressing his eagerness to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 during his upcoming visit to China, said that the time-tested ties between the two countries had grown strongly over a period of time.
During an interaction with the Chinese media, the prime minister said both countries had bonds of friendship spanning over a period of 70 years, further cemented with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He said “There is a feeling in Pakistan that China always stood with us in times of need and supported us during difficult times. Similarly, Pakistan also always stood with China.”
The prime minister also referred to the construction of the Karakorum highway as a vital milestone in the chapter of Pakistan-China friendship. A number of Chinese died during its construction, he added.
To a query, he said that the most impressive thing about China as acknowledged by the entire world was its success in taking 700 million people out of poverty during the last thirty or forty years, adding such huge achievement had never happened before in the human history.
He said it was such a feast that had impressed the world. “It is this fact which also impressed me as it coincides with my objective of steering my people out of poverty,’ he added.
The prime minister responding to another question maintained that they would like to emulate the steps taken by China to alleviate poverty. “We want to emulate the Chinese model of inclusive growth. The Chinese economy growth witnessed the prosperity of all Chinese people,” he maintained.
The prime minister said such inclusive growth excluded the bridge between the rich and the poor. China had been a model for all those countries that wanted an inclusive growth, he added.
Such a growth, he said, also contributed to wealth creation. China remained focused on the economy and when it attained growth, its fruits trickled down to all strata of society.
