Symposium discusses crop analysis, sensible farming, training hyperlinks, poultry initiatives
BEIJING:
The first China-Pakistan Symposium on Education, Science and Industrial Cooperation was held on January 20, 2026, at COMSTECH headquarters in Islamabad, marking a renewed and extra built-in strategy to bilateral collaboration.
The assembly was chaired by Senior Professor Zhang Lixin of Northwest A&F University, Chairman of the Silkroad Biohealth Agricultural Industry Alliance and Chief Scientist and Director of the Shaanxi Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Dryland Biological Resources and Green Smart Agriculture, China. It was attended by Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi, who delivered the keynote tackle. More than 50 representatives from authorities companies, universities, analysis establishments and main enterprises from each nations participated.
In his opening remarks, Professor Zhang Lixin welcomed the various delegation, which included representatives from Shaanxi province, Chinese nationwide media, college members and college students from Northwest A&F University, in addition to officers from Pakistan’s science and know-how authorities, universities and trade.
Discussions centered on agriculture, increased training and industrial cooperation. Representing Pakistan’s Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Shakil Arshad outlined ongoing collaborations in area science and conventional Chinese medication with Chinese universities, together with Nanjing University and Xian Jiaotong University.
Agricultural consultants emphasised the urgency of collaborative innovation. Professor Muhammad Azam Khan, former director normal of Pakistan’s National Agriculture Research Center, stated greater than 700 crop varieties developed by the council now cowl 80% of Pakistan’s farmland. He referred to as for enhanced cooperation with China in precision agriculture, sensible equipment and sesame value-chain growth. Professor Shah Nawaz Marri, Chairman of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Sindh Agriculture University, introduced plans to ascertain Pakistan’s first China-Pakistan Agricultural Cooperation Center and expressed hope for joint analysis with China in areas equivalent to pepper selection enchancment and the alternate of germplasm sources for high-value crops.
Business representatives outlined particular investment alternatives. Sun Lianfeng, General Manager of Baoji Haisheng Modern Agriculture, stated the corporate plans to introduce high-density apple cultivation applied sciences to Pakistan, which might improve yields by 30% whereas decreasing water utilization by 80%. Feng Lianying, General Manager of Xianyang Kangda Modern Agriculture, confirmed that preparations have been actively beneath technique to make investments in fashionable poultry farming services in Pakistan.
Educational cooperation has already yielded tangible outcomes. More than 260 Pakistani college students are at the moment enrolled in agriculture-related majors at Northwest A&F University, whereas over 510 individuals have accomplished coaching programmes. Last yr and this yr, a complete of 10 Chinese Silk Road graduate college students got here to Pakistan University for alternate research, whereas two Pakistani graduate college students will go to China for coaching in sensible agricultural know-how.
In his closing remarks, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi described agriculture as a cornerstone of high-quality growth beneath the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, emphasising the robust complementarity between Pakistan’s sources and China’s technological strengths. He additionally stated {that a} main worldwide cooperation programme, authorised in December 2025, would supply a brand new platform for future collaboration.
The symposium was adopted by a 10-day collection of visits by the Chinese delegation throughout Islamabad, Lahore and different areas. Activities included participation in a Pakistan-China agriculture investment convention, web site inspections of farms, meals processing and poultry services, and conferences with analysis establishments such because the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute. Several cooperation agreements have been signed and roadmaps have been established for joint laboratories, know-how switch centres and demonstration parks.
Together, the discussion board and follow-up visits reworked dialogue into sensible cooperation, strengthening people-to-people ties and laying a basis for a deeper China-Pakistan partnership as the 2 nations strategy the seventy fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations.