Pakistan's Higher Education Commission (HEC) signed two cooperation agreements with Chinese partners at the World Sinology Center of Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), paving the way for Chinese vocational education expertise and AI-powered classrooms to reach Pakistani campuses as the two countries mark 75 years of diplomatic relations.

The first agreement was signed by HEC Chairman Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar and Chen Hunfeng, president of Qingdao Hengxing University of Science and Technology, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Friday.

Under the agreement, the two sides will establish a two-way teacher and student exchange programme and a mutual credit-recognition mechanism, hold regular China-Pakistan vocational skills competitions, and train locally based skilled workers for Chinese-funded enterprises operating in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The Chinese university will also establish a China-Pakistan International Exchange Special Scholarship for outstanding Pakistani students.

Eligible Pakistani universities from across the country may join the DaoYi University Alliance, which is led by Qingdao Hengxing University of Science and Technology.

The second agreement, a strategic cooperation framework between the HEC and education technology company Jiuxuewang Group, focuses on educational digitalisation and AI-enabled Chinese-language education.

The partners plan to establish standardised International Chinese Language Education Centres at around 10 Pakistani institutions in phases, jointly develop a national-level smart education public service platform for Pakistan, and organise people-to-people exchange activities, including Chinese-language, vocational skills and sinology competitions.

Both agreements followed in-depth discussions on July 6 between the Pakistani delegation, led by Chairman Akhtar, and the Chinese partners at BLCU.

The talks covered industry-education integration, digital transformation and youth exchanges.

The signings came during a week-long visit by the HEC delegation, which included heads of leading Pakistani universities.

The delegation also met with the China Association of Higher Education and Fudan University, reflecting the growing role of education and human capital development in the second phase of CPEC.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China