China is committed to invest heavily in Pakistan’s energy and other sectors to improve lives of Pakistani citizens, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy Yao Wen said Thursday.

Speaking at a function at a local school here, Wen said China is already working on 120 projects in Pakistan with around a quarter related to energy. In addition, Wen said, during the last five years volume of bilateral trade has grown by 70% cent to over $12 billion with Pakistani exports increasing two-fold from $1 billion to $2.2 billion.

Wen stressed the need for enhancing collaboration between educational institutions and exchanges of students and researchers to promote intellectual cooperation. Lauding the role of Pakistan in regional and global peace, stability and development, he said that Pakistan has offered great sacrifices to ensure peace.

Speaking on the occasion, former president Chinese Association Raza Khan lauded Chinese assistance and cooperation in various fields, terming it a great service to people of Pakistan. He lauded the active involvement of Chinese Ambassador Liu Jian in capacity building of students and said that supporting needy students was a great service for social development.

Joint Secretary Ministry of Education Professor Muhammad Rafiq Tahir termed China a sincere friend, and said that two countries should fully unleash their potential of cooperation to benefit masses. Pakistan and China need to work closely together to seize opportunities and meet challenges to develop economy and improve people’s well-being.