Comment by Riaz Haq on May 1, 2019 at 10:56am

Scientists in Pakistan and Sri Lanka bet their futures on China
Researchers are turning to China for support and collaboration as their countries take centre stage in the Belt and Road Initiative.

https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-019-01125-6/index.html

In Pakistan, China has far surpassed Saudi Arabia and the United States as the leading partner in scientific collaborations, according to an analysis of co-authored papers from Elsevier’s Scopus database. ....

Take Wang, who quit her job researching the biochemistry of traditional medicines at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Institute of Food Science and Technology in Beijing to take an academic post at the University of Karachi. She misses her friends and family and it’s a wrench not to be able to play competitive table tennis. But Wang sees the Karachi move as a way to secure her future. “In China, there’s too much competition for promotions, and even as an assistant professor, I had to book flights and be the secretary for my boss. Here, I have autonomy to set my agenda and apply for my own funding,” she says. Wang is looking to work with Pakistan’s herbal-medicines industry. The medicinal plants used in formulations are mostly picked from the wild and “I want to explore whether Pakistani medicinal plants can be cultivated, as they are in China”, she says. “I also want to compare the ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine with those used in Pakistani herbal medicine. I have too many things I want to do.”

Liu is using his virology background to look into a different type of medicine. “I want to explore joint research in areas such as avian influenza or dengue,” he says. China is seeing a spike in infectious diseases in the large numbers of Chinese workers who participate on BRI projects, and Liu thinks this could be the basis for a China–Pakistan project in genomics and disease epidemiology.

The academic contacts with China are growing quickly. Every year, China offers Pakistani students around 7,000 fully funded scholarships to master’s and PhD courses. In February, its ambassador to Islamabad, Yao Jing, pledged to nearly treble these, up to 20,000 annually. Some 28,000 Pakistani students are already studying in China, and around 6,000 are doing PhDs.

And back in Pakistan, Mandarin is being rolled out as an optional language choice (after English) in schools and universities. Most public universities already have some degree of cooperation with Chinese counterparts. The latest will be Islamabad National University, which is moving into the former official residence of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who vacated it on taking office a year ago. The university has partnered with China to build a joint centre that will focus on the environment, climate change, terrestrial and marine hazards and the ocean economy, says Safdar Ali Shah, who heads the China team at Pakistan’s university regulatory body, the Higher Education Commission.

“My generation of scientists did our PhDs mostly in the UK and the USA and that is where many of us still have collaborations,” says geologist Qasim Jan, president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and an alumnus of King’s College London. “The next generation will be different. After we are gone, most of their links will be with China,” he predicts.

--

In January, Choudhary was hosting the Wuhan virology team and researchers from other universities in China. Two months earlier, he had been in Hangzhou at a ceremony to inaugurate the Chinese branch of the Sino-Pakistan Hybrid Rice Research Center (the Karachi branch opened in 2017). The centre, a collaboration with the China National Rice Research Institute, is testing rice varieties that could be grown in some of Pakistan’s more arid regions.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 5, 2019 at 5:30pm

#Digital #BRI – #China’s growing #5G clout: #China has begun building “information expressway” of fibre optic cable links to #Myanmar, #Nepal & #Kyrgyzstan to link to #Africa by undersea cable from #Pakistan which is being linked to China through #CPEC. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/coming-digi...

The second summit of the Belt and Road Initiative concluded this week amid great fanfare in Beijing. Headlines proclaimed BRI’s inexorable expansion to new countries and China’s growing footprint. But it was the ‘Digital Silk Road’ project – one of 12 subthemes discussed at the summit – that could prove to be a game changer.

While the US keeps issuing warnings about the espionage risks of using Chinese 5G network equipment and the security threat posed by Huawei devices, China’s telecom infrastructure projects keep growing. Despite the lamentations of a Cassandra-like Washington, Huawei and ZTE are acquiring access to larger markets making an end run around their Western rivals. Less visible than ports and railways of BRI, China’s expanding control over the world’s digital communications networks would give Beijing unparalleled influence. Its growing clout in surveillance tech, combined with its lead in developing superfast 5G, promises to make China a global tech challenger to the US. This significant development comes despite repeated American warnings that it might reconsider sharing sensitive intelligence with allies that allow Huawei to build 5G networks in their countries. Even the UK, which as a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing group (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) once supported a tough stand against Huawei, has now decided to allow the firm to build parts of its 5G network. Major BRI partners don’t even have an option: they are required to use only Chinese 5G suppliers, which hold 36% of all 5G patents worldwide.

Ever since the Digital Silk Road was launched in 2017, China has begun building up an “information expressway” of fibre optic cable links to Myanmar, Nepal and Kyrgyzstan. It plans to connect Africa to China by laying cables across the ocean from Pakistan which is being linked to China through its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. China has offered help to countries as far away as Cuba, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to advance cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence (AI). China’s advance as a digital connector and leading provider of 5G technology – which would form the backbone of autonomous vehicles, facial recognition technology, and AI – to an ever-growing number of developing countries raises the possibility that Chinese-style surveillance states will proliferate. Its ongoing efforts to harness AI to master big data and its ability to harvest vast amounts of such data from connected countries would give Beijing greater political influence than by merely constructing trade and transportation hubs.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 7, 2019 at 9:47am

#Christian clerics in #Pakistan helping #Chinese men target poor Christian girls in Pakistan for #marriage, AP reports. #Trafficking #China #Brides https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christian-girls-chinese-men-target-poo... via @CBSNews

Gujranwala, Pakistan -- Muqadas Ashraf was just 16 when her parents married her off to a Chinese man who had come to Pakistan looking for a bride. Less than five months later, Muqadas is back in her home country, pregnant and seeking a divorce from a husband she says was abusive.


She is one of hundreds of poor Christian girls who have been trafficked to China in a market for brides that has swiftly grown in Pakistan since late last year, activists say. Brokers are aggressively seeking out girls for Chinese men, sometimes even cruising outside churches to ask for potential brides. They are being helped by Christian clerics paid to target impoverished parents in their congregation with promises of wealth in exchange for their daughters.

Parents receive several thousand dollars and are told that their new sons-in-law are wealthy Christian converts. The grooms turn out to be neither, according to several brides, their parents, an activist, pastors and government officials, all of whom spoke to The Associated Press. Once in China, the girls -- most often married against their will -- can find themselves isolated in remote rural regions, vulnerable to abuse, unable to communicate and reliant on a translation app even for a glass of water.

"This is human smuggling," said Aslam Augustine, the human rights and minorities minister in Pakistan's Punjab province, in an interview with the AP. "Greed is really responsible for these marriages ... I have met with some of these girls and they are very poor."

Augustine accused the Chinese government and its embassy in Pakistan of turning a blind eye to the practice by unquestioningly issuing visas and documents. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that, saying China has zero tolerance for illegal transnational marriage agencies.

Human Rights Watch called on China and Pakistan to take action to end bride trafficking, warning in an April 26 statement of "increasing evidence that Pakistani women and girls are at risk of sexual slavery in China."

On Monday, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency arrested eight Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis in raids in Punjab province in connection with trafficking, Geo TV reported. It said the raids followed an undercover operation that included attending an arranged marriage.

The Chinese embassy said last month that China is cooperating with Pakistan to crack down on unlawful matchmaking centers, saying "both Chinese and Pakistani youths are victims of these illegal agents."

The Associated Press interviewed more than a dozen Christian Pakistani brides and would-be brides who fled before exchanging vows. All had similar accounts of a process involving brokers and members of the clergy, including describing houses where they were taken to see potential husbands and spend their wedding nights in Islamabad, the country's capital, and Lahore, the capital of Punjab province.

"It is all fraud and cheating. All the promises they make are fake," said Muqadas.

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 7, 2019 at 9:48am

Cary Hunag: "#China lags far behind #UnitedStates, #Europe in productivity, sophistication, #technology, management skills, #military and diplomatic strength, and “soft power” – developments in the fields of #science, #education, culture and the arts". https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3006892/if-china-thi...

The warning by the former commerce minister Chen Deming that China should not assume it will overtake the United States to become the world’s top superpower should serve as a wake-up call to those harbouring illusions about China’s place in the world while ignoring the challenges ahead.

“Do not take it for granted that China is No 2, and do not make the assumption that we will be No 1 sooner or later,” Chen told a forum organised by the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think tank, last Sunday.
The perception that China is the No 2 global power and on the path to become No 1 is based on two questionable assumptions – that China’s stellar growth levels, which outpace those of its main competitors, will continue on the same path, and that gross domestic product or the size of the economy equates to national power.

all these calculations assume is that China’s enviable growth patterns will continue in their present fashion – and it is far from clear that this will be the case. Indeed, the world’s second largest economy has been losing growth momentum steadily since peaking at 14.23 per cent in 2007. It slowed to 10.62 per cent in 2010, 7.29 per cent in 2014 and 6.6 per cent last year.
Tellingly, the outlook looks gloomier than any time in recent memory, with the downward trend having picked up pace quarter by quarter since the start of last year. In the first quarter the rate was 6.8 per cent, in the second it was 6.7, in the third 6.5 and in the fourth 6.4. Though growth has steadied with a better-than-expected 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year, thanks to supporting monetary easing and fiscal stimulus, it is still the lowest rate since 1992, when Beijing began publishing quarterly GDP data.

---------

GDP is a measure of a country’s economic activities, but it does not accurately measure improvements in human well-being and it does not tell the full story about national strength.
In China’s case particularly, GDP growth is closely linked to asset bubbles, speculation and state-led capital investment. This has resulted in much overcapacity and bad debt, producing what economists call “bad GDP”.

----------------


The distinction between GDP and GDP per capita explains why America took until the end of the second world war to surpass Britain as the world’s most powerful nation, despite having surpassed it in GDP terms as early as the 1860s (at least on some estimations – the concept of GDP was dreamed up by Nobel laureate Simon Kuznets in the mid-1930s).

Comment by Riaz Haq on May 17, 2019 at 9:32am

How China is redrawing the map of world science
The Belt and Road Initiative, China’s mega-plan for global infrastructure, will transform the lives and work of tens of thousands of researchers. By Ehsan Masood


https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-019-01124-7/index.html


In Pakistan, it is co-sponsoring a range of research centres that are studying topics from rice agriculture to artificial intelligence and railway engineering. In the heart of the European Union, a Chinese–Belgian science park provides homes for companies trying to expand trade in medical devices, solar power and other technologies. And in South America, China has partnered with Chile and Argentina on astronomical centres and has gained access to some of the best observatories in the world. In total, the scientific side of the BRI involves tens of thousands of researchers and students, and hundreds of universities. There are few regions of the developing world where China’s scientific outreach does not have a footprint.

--------------------

As one component of this massive initiative, China is creating what it calls a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a giant oceanic loop that links the country’s shipping to the nations bordering each of the great oceans, including some in Africa and South America. Then there’s the Silk Road Economic Belt, a complicated network of six overland corridors that connect China to some of Asia and Europe’s major cities through railways, roads and maritime paths.

The signs of a scientific BRI emerged soon after Xi visited central Asia in September 2013. The following year, CAS funded an upgrade to a 1-metre telescope at Uzbekistan’s Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute. The improvement paved the way for the Uzbekistan institute to survey the northern sky in collaboration with China’s Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory. Uzbekistan has no experience in telescope making, observatory director Shuhrat Ehgamberdiev told the CAS Bulletin, so the most important technological part was done by China’s engineers. This was the beginning of much grander plans by CAS.

The BRI’s scientific component is being masterminded by Bai. Trained in China as an X-ray crystallographer, Bai worked with John Baldeschwieler at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in the mid-1980s on scanning tunnelling microscopy.

Even early in Bai’s career, it was clear he would go far, says Baldeschwieler, who remembers predicting that Bai would one day become president of CAS. During a visit to Beijing in 1995, Baldeschwieler was amazed to find that Bai had arranged a meeting with China’s then-president Jiang Zemin. “We were picked up in a small bus and taken by police escort with flashing lights through Tiananmen Square to the Great Hall of the People.” Young boys and girls were lining the stairs on a red carpet, he recalls.

Under Bai, the science BRI has been running on three parallel tracks. In China, CAS has established five centres of excellence at its institutes, and these host the 200 PhD students that the academy trains every year.

Outside China, it has opened nine research and training centres, in Africa, central Asia, South America and south and southeast Asia — often co-funded by their host countries. The China–Brazil Joint Laboratory for Space Weather in São José dos Campos, for example, is monitoring space weather changes and developing forecast models. In Bangkok, the CAS Innovation Cooperation Center helps Thailand’s universities and technology companies to work with Chinese counterparts, and at the same time gives China a foothold in the region. And then there are hundreds of individual collaborations between CAS and universities in China and elsewhere.

The third track is what CAS is calling the Digital Belt and Road, a platform for participating countries to share the data obtained as part of their collaborative projects with each other and with China. These data include satellite images as well as quantitative data on natural hazards, water resources and cultural heritage sites.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 31, 2019 at 6:07pm

#Pakistani students shine at #Beijing Institute of Technology #China. Among distinguished international students from #Russia, #Poland, #Germany, #France, #Kazakhstan, #Egypt and #African countries, 85% of the top award winners are from #Pakistan. http://a.msn.com/0F/en-xl/BBYlsRv?ocid=st

BEIJING: A number of Pakistani students at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), a major research university under the supervision of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, were awarded “best student of the year” for their performance during current academic year.

Out of total distinguished international students from Russia, Poland, Germany, France, Kazakhstan, Egypt and African countries who won the award, 85 per cent belonged to Pakistan, according to a data released by the institute.

Manzoor Sutlan, a student of Armament Science and Technology Department, excelled in the research on molecular dynamics simulation, co-crystallization to decrease, sensitivity of explosive materials.

Similarly, Syed Anees Haider Zaidi of Management Science and Engineering was awarded excellent student award for research in green supply chain.

Raja Hamid Dhanyak carried out research in electronic science and technology and Syed Zaheer from Mathematics department of the university conducted research in geometry and were declared excellent students.

Two students Zahoor Ahmed and Shujah-ur-Rehman from School of Management Economics excelled in carrying out research in environmental sustainability, energy economic and accounting respective.


Zeeshan Masood, a student of School of Automation and Ali Muhammad Rawahid, a student of aerospace engineering excellently performed during their research in control science and engineering and electric propulsion respectively.

Ubaid Khan, Qasim Umer and Adnan Tahir, students of school of optics and photonic, computer science and life sciences respective were selected or the excellent award for research in optical engineering, machine learning, software maintenance and bioinformatics and neurobiology.

More than 2,500 international students from 137 countries are currently enrolled at the university.
The largest student population is from Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, Poland, Germany, France, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Thailand.

Every year, the university nominates some students for excellent students of the year on the basis of their performance.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 28, 2020 at 7:58pm

Eric Schmdt: Computer science in 1970s & ’80s funded by US Government. #Trump now proposing to double funding for #AI and quantum computing for #NationalSecurity. Need to up #biotechnology funding. #Americans Beware of #China Getting Ahead in #technology https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/opinion/eric-schmidt-ai-china.html

Many of Silicon Valley’s leaders got their start with grants from the federal government — including me. My graduate work in computer science in the 1970s and ’80s was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

But in recent years, Americans — Silicon Valley leaders included — have put too much faith in the private sector to ensure U.S. global leadership in new technology. Now we are in a technology competition with China that has profound ramifications for our economy and defense — a reality I have come to appreciate as chairman of two government panels on innovation and national security. The government needs to get back in the game in a serious way.

Important trends are not in our favor. America’s lead in artificial intelligence, for example, is precarious. A.I. will open new frontiers in everything from biotechnology to banking, and it is also a Defense Department priority. Leading the world in A.I. is essential to growing our economy and protecting our security. A recent study considering more than 100 metrics finds that the United States is well ahead of China today but will fall behind in five to 10 years. China also has almost twice as many supercomputers and about 15 times as many deployed 5G base stations as the United States. If current trends continue, China’s overall investments in research and development are expected to surpass those of the United States within 10 years, around the same time its economy is projected to become larger than ours.

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 3, 2021 at 8:15am

China Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Science under CPEC in the Offing

https://nation.com.pk/03-Oct-2021/china-pakistan-joint-research-cen...

The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives directed reverent authorities to finalize action plans within 30 days for four mega-projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including the establishment of China Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Science, according to a report published by Gwadar Pro.

In this regard, Federal Minister for PDSI Asad Umar presided over the review meetings of the newly constituted Working Groups on Science and Technology and Information Technology Cooperation at the 10th JCC of CPEC.

The minister directed the action plans for four projects including the establishment of the China Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Science,the acquisition of Oceanographic Research Vessel,the establishment of the Institute of Smart Semiconductor and the establishment of Silicon Solar Cells,PV Panel Fabrication Facility of 500 MW/annum. These projects were made part of CPEC in the 10th JCC meeting.

Minister for Science & Technology Shibli Faraz said that with the joint efforts of both countries, science and technology applications should be used to accelerate the growth of the economy and solve the problems of the citizens.

We need to go for a proper plan & strategy with a regular monitoring system so that Pakistan can obtain maximum benefit from technology and expertise of the Chinese side, Mr. Faraz added.

The newly formed JWG on Information Technology, which was approved during the 10th JCC, was also discussed in another meeting. The participants discussed Broadband Connectivity, Technology Parks/ IT Parks, Cyber Security, Software and Hardware developmentin detail.

Information technology is the future of Pakistan and in the last one or two years, Pakistan has witnessed rapid growth in this sector, said Federal Minister for Information Technology Aminul Haq and he added that Pakistans software exports increased almost 47% in the information technology sector.

This sector now will further develop and expand through technical collaboration with China, according to Mr. Haq, adding there is also a need to launch new technical assistance programs for Pakistan to meet the professional requirements of the growing IT Industry in the country.


Federal Minister Asad Umar directed the IT Ministry to submit concept notes on the above sectors to M/o PDSI within 30 days so that the fast-moving and strategic initiatives could be discussed in the upcoming JWG.

"The role of the Ministry of IT must be appreciated as they are striving hard to meet the international standards of technological advancement and progress," Asad Umar added.

Comment by Riaz Haq on December 26, 2021 at 10:33am

6th Academic Forum on China-Pak Scitech and Economic Cooperation held
BY ACADEMIA MAGAZINE DECEMBER 17, 2021

https://academiamag.com/6th-academic-forum-on-china-pak-scitech-and...

The 6th Academic Forum on China-Pakistan Scientific, Technical and Economic Cooperation under the “Belt and Road” Initiative with the theme of Inheriting China-Pakistan Friendship and Joining Hands to Create the Future was held online and offline, with more than 200 Chinese and Pakistani experts and scholars participated in it.

Department of International Cooperation, China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), Beijing Association for Science and Technology (BAST), Embassy of China in Pakistan, Embassy of Pakistan Beijing, the Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU) jointly organized the forum.

“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Pakistan-China diplomatic ties and there has been a renewed focus on cooperation in the fields of higher education and science and technology, Moin ul Haque, Pakistan Ambassador to China highlighted.

The BTBU organizes international forums, trainings and exchanges through two platforms of the “Belt and Road” Joint Training Center jointly established by the Pakistan Study Center of Science and Technology and Economy and the international science and technology organization in Pakistan-the ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF), CEN reported.

Dr. Talat Shabbir, China-Pakistan Study Centre (CPSC), Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad (ISSI), and Dr. Di Yuna, Executive Director of BTBU PSC, signed the memorandum of academic cooperation on behalf of both sides.

Dr. Shabbir emphasized that the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has promoted the exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples and improved the economic and living standards of Pakistan.

The signing of the agreement is of great significance. He looks forward to in-depth cooperation with BTBU in the future.

Dr. Di introduced the exchanges and trainings carried out by the Pakistan Study Center of Science & Technology and Economy of BTBU in the past six years, and expressed sincere gratitude to the Chinese and Pakistani partners for their continuous support.

Wang Qinglin, Vice Minister of the International Cooperation Department of the China Association for Science and Technology, noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The cooperation between the two parties in the field of science and technology has been further strengthened.

Xie Guoxiang, Minister Counselor, Embassy of China in Pakistan underlined in his speech that the Joint Committee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor established a joint working group on science and technology last year, and this year it added a joint working group on information technology.

Besides, Pakistani scientists have also been commended by the Chinese government one after another. Dr. Manzoor Hussain Soomro, President of ECO Science Foundation, received the 2020 Chinese Government Friendship Award.

Beijing Science and Technology International Exchange Center, China Study Centre at COMSATS University Islamabad, Pakistan Science and Technology Information Center, School of International Economics and Management, School of Economics, School of Foreign Languages, Office of International Exchange and Cooperation at BTBU, and representatives from Chinese and Pakistani governments, technology organizations, teacher, student, business and media agency representatives also attended the forum.

Comment by Riaz Haq on January 7, 2022 at 10:00am

Centre for #BRI, #China and #Pakistan Studies to be established in China. It will facilitate cooperation in #technology, #education, #digital #economy, #film & #culture, #infrastructure modernization, #tourism, human resources #skills development, etc. http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202201/07/t20220107_37237988.shtml

Having recognized the importance of the business model transformation and innovation that are required in the architecture, engineering, construction, ICT, media, entertainment, tourism, and education fields, both Chinese and Pakistan business enterprises establish this important Centre for business cooperation and market research.

The main objective of this partnership is to establish a platform to drive the initiatives for collaborative projects for Pakistani and Chinese communities. The Center will facilitate cooperation in IT, education, digital economy, film and culture, infrastructure modernization, tourism, human resources skills development, etc. The aim of the Center is also to build economic empowerment of the communities and fight poverty.

The companies from both sides recognize the comprehensive capabilities of Chinese engineering companies in the infrastructure and will encourage the Pakistan companies to learn from their experience.

They will also facilitate large scale exchange of businesspeople to help boom investment and trade activities, and increase the understanding of each other.

Belt and Road Consultants Pvt Ltd (BRC) is a leading company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The main objective of BRC is to provide assistance to local businessmen and foreign investors from the participant countries of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) to invest in and outside Pakistan. BRC, through well-knitted linkages within the participant countries of BRI at the public and private levels, provides consultancy services in the areas of Culture, Education, Science and Technology, Media, Research and Development, Tourism, Transportation, Exchange of Ideas, Goods, and Services. BRC consists of a group of professionals and business enterprises that are leaders in their respective fields.

BIM Service Center aims to enable individuals to build skills for business through various service projects. The motivation is to carry out win-win cooperation and open up a better future.

Muhammad Asif Noor, CEO, Belt and Road Consultants Pvt Ltd and Jiang Hongshen,

Founding Director of Zhejiang Province BIM Service Center and Professor of Zhejiang University of Science and Technology signed the MoU.

It is anticipated that the MoU will further progress the initiatives by the Government of Pakistan and China to improve trade and investment partnership between China and Pakistan.

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