Lahore - Chinese Acting Consul General to Lahore Peng Zhengwu, in a message of congratulations on 72nd founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, has extended his warmest greetings and kind wishes to all overseas Chinese in Punjab, and Pakistani brothers from all walks of life who care about and support Sino-Pak friendship.
Peng Zhengwu said, “What’s most memorable of the Year 2021 is the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). As the leading power of China, CPC has united and led the people of China to work hard and achieve remarkable development. Thanks to the CPC, a complete victory has been secured in eradicating absolute poverty in China this year. More than 10 million impoverished people were lifted out of poverty on average each year since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012. During these eight years, the final 98.99 million impoverished rural residents living under the current poverty line were lifted out of poverty. All the 832 impoverished counties and 128,000 impoverished villages have been removed from the poverty list.”
The Consul General said, “In addition, 770 million rural residents have shaken off poverty since the beginning of reform and opening-up over 40 years ago, when calculated as per the current poverty line.China met the poverty eradication target set in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, and according to the World Bank’s international poverty line, the number of Chinese people lifted out of poverty over the past 40 years accounts for more than 70 percent of the global total.”
“What is also unusual is that 2021 also coincides with the 70th Anniversary of Sino-Pak Diplomatic Relations. Over the past 70 years, no matter how the international landscape changes, China and Pakistan have always joined hands to forge ahead and carry out all-round cooperation. This kind of intimate and sincere friendship is a valuable asset worth cherishing from generation to generation. China-Pakistan cooperation has yielded fruitful results on the strong basis of the previous years. In fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, China has closely worked with Pakistan by carrying out continued vaccine cooperation, including co-production of Covid-19 vaccines. As all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan attach great importance to poverty alleviation. China will further promote the Sino-Pak practical cooperation in various fields and actively share its relevant experience with its iron brother. I firmly believe that under the joint efforts of both countries, greater success will be achieved for betterment of the wellbeing of people of the two countries.”
He further said, “The 660kV High-Voltage Direct Current Matiari-Lahore transmission line, started commercial operations on September 1. From the beginning of this year, CPEC entered the second phase focusing on agricultural and industrial cooperation. Under the staunch support by Punjab government and with close cooperation by both countries, CPEC projects in Punjab are progressing well with remarkable fruits achieved, which are delivering strong and genuine benefits for the people of Pakistan.”
“As the Acting Chinese Consul General to Lahore, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Punjab government and people that have always supported and cared for Chinese enterprises and nationals. I will continue to play a more proactive role in enhancing communication and coordination with Punjab, promoting exchanges and cooperation between local governments, advancing steadily the construction of CPEC projects, and pushing forward our all-weather strategic cooperative partnership so as to bring constant benefits to the two countries and peoples,” he concluded.
