Karachi: The Institute of Business Management (IoBM), in collaboration with the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Karachi, organized a seminar on Wednesday, 5 November 2025, titled “Pakistan–China Relations: A Global Model for Interstate Friendship.” The event was attended by students and faculty members of IoBM and featured addresses by Mr. Yang Yundong, Consul General of China in Karachi; Dr. Tariq Rahim Soomro, Rector of IoBM; and Ambassador Ghulam Rasool Baluch, Director of the Global & Regional Studies Center (GRSC), IoBM.
In his keynote, Consul General Yang Yundong highlighted the strategic and time-tested nature of Pakistan–China ties, grounded in mutual trust, respect, and win-win cooperation. He reaffirmed the centrality of CPEC as the flagship of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He also outlined the priorities of China’s forthcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030)—technological self-reliance, green transformation, expansion of domestic demand, and high-quality international cooperation—as pillars for sustainable, innovation-driven growth.
Delivering the main address, Ambassador Ghulam Rasool Baluch described Pakistan–China relations as a historic, multidimensional, value-driven partnership. He recalled Pakistan’s early recognition of the PRC in 1951 and Islamabad’s bridge-building role in China’s global engagement. He stressed CPEC as a model of South–South cooperation based on partnership rather than patronage, rejecting the “debt-trap” narrative as a geopolitical distortion. He noted close coordination at the UN, SCO, and BRICS+ to uphold sovereign equality and peaceful coexistence. He further stated that Pakistan fully supports China’s recently announced “Global Governance Initiative (GGI)”, which seeks reforms grounded in the UN Charter and advances a philosophy of “togetherness instead of dominance” toward a rules-based, multipolar order. He urged the youth of both countries to be custodians of this friendship, especially in an AI-driven future.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Tariq Rahim Soomro, Rector of IoBM, thanked the Chinese Consulate for continued collaboration, shared reflections from his doctoral studies in China in the 1990s, and reaffirmed IoBM’s commitment to deeper research, academic exchange, and innovation partnerships with Chinese institutions. Dr. Junaid Ahmed presented highlights from his recent book on international relations. During a vibrant Question-and-Answer session, students raised pertinent questions on how youth in both countries can meet future challenges—particularly in the era of Technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). The seminar concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. Xie Shye, official of the Chinese Consulate in Karachi.
Pakistan–China Friendship Zindabad.
