by Liao Yifan
BEIJING, Jan. 31, (China Economic Net) – 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 method to bilateral collaboration.
The assembly was chaired by Senior Professor Zhang Lixin of Northwest A&F University, Chairman of Silkroad Biohealth Agricultural Industry Alliance and Chief Scientist/Director of Shaanxi Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Dryland Biological Resources and Green Smart Agriculture，China, and attended by Khalil Hashmi, Ambassador of Pakistan to China, who delivered the keynote handle. More than 50 representatives from authorities businesses, universities, analysis establishments, and main enterprises from each international locations participated.
In his opening remarks, Professor Zhang Lixin welcomed the various delegation, which included representatives from Shaanxi Province, Chinese nationwide media, college and college students from Northwest A&F University, in addition to officers from Pakistan’s science and know-how authorities, universities, and business.
Discussions targeted on agriculture, greater training, and industrial cooperation. Representing Pakistan’s Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Shakil Arshad outlined ongoing collaborations in house science and Traditional Chinese Medicine with Chinese universities, together with Nanjing University and Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Agricultural specialists emphasised the urgency of collaborative innovation. Professor Muhammad Azam Khan, former Director General of Pakistan’s National Agriculture Research Center, famous that greater than 700 crop varieties developed by the council now cowl 80% of Pakistan’s farmland. He known as for enhanced cooperation with China in precision agriculture, sensible equipment, and sesame value-chain improvement. Professor Shah Nawaz Marri, Chairman of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Sindh Agriculture University, introduced plans to ascertain Pakistan’s first China-Pakistan Agricultural Cooperation Center and expressed hopes to conduct joint analysis with China in areas similar to pepper selection enchancment and the alternate of germplasm sources for high-value crops.
Business representatives outlined particular funding alternatives. Sun Lianfeng, General Manager of Baoji Haisheng Modern Agriculture, acknowledged that the corporate plans to introduce high-density apple cultivation applied sciences to Pakistan, which may enhance yields by 30% whereas lowering water utilization by 80%. Feng Lianying, General Manager of Xianyang Kangda Modern Agriculture, confirmed that preparations are actively underway to put money into trendy poultry farming services in Pakistan.
Educational cooperation has already yielded tangible outcomes. More than 260 Pakistani college students are at present enrolled in agriculture-related majors at Northwest A&F University, and over 510 contributors have accomplished coaching packages. Last yr and this yr, a complete of 10 Chinese Silk Road graduate college students have come to Pakistan University for alternate research, whereas 2 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 improvement underneath China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, emphasizing the robust complementarity between Pakistan’s sources and China’s technological strengths. He additionally revealed {that a} main worldwide cooperation program, accepted in December 2025, will present a brand new platform for future collaboration.
The symposium was adopted by a ten-day collection of visits by the Chinese delegation throughout Islamabad, Lahore and different areas. Activities included participation in a Pakistan–China agriculture funding 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 facilities, and demonstration parks.
Together, the discussion board and follow-up visits reworked dialogue into sensible cooperation, strengthening people-to-people ties and laying a stable basis for a deeper China-Pakistan partnership as the 2 international locations method the seventy fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations.