China is a progressively popular destination for international students, with the number of Pakistani students tripling in the past five years.

China, as a true friend of Pakistan, welcomed brilliant students from all social strata, especially those who could not afford quality international education.

Quality education is one of the biggest challenges for Pakistan.

The country is in need to develop the skills of the young generation through specialized technical education, and relevant programs are available in top Chinese universities.

This opportunity not only opened the door to learning skills considered vital for national development but also gave a huge incentive in the form of international exposure and connection with some of the best students from around the world. 

In the spirit of the long-lasting friendship between the two countries, China offered one of the largest scholarship programs to students from Pakistan.

Furthermore, many Chinese universities signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with various Pakistani universities to facilitate educational exchanges between the institutions.

According to the Chinese ministry of education, China was the most popular destination for international students in Asia last year, having attracted 489,200 foreign students. Pakistan was among the top three countries for outbound students to China.

According to Pakistani official figures, approximately 25,000 Pakistani students are currently studying in China, one-third of whom are on scholarships offered by the Chinese government.

"China has a unique and outstanding culture compared to the rest of the world, and it leads in many trends, whether it is technology, fashion or design. I have always been impressed by and respectful of what China has achieved in education, socio-economic development and as a result earning more international respect in the last three decades," he added.

Tehmina Firdous, a Pakistani postgraduate student at the Communication University of China believes that China has a world-class modern education system with Chinese characteristics and offers great opportunities to Pakistani students to learn practical work, especially for those who are working in the field of media to learn advanced techniques.

She noted that taking advantage of this opportunity to learn Mandarin enables Pakistanis to enhance people-to-people contact between the two countries.

Abdul Ghaffar, a Ph.D. candidate at Tsinghua University, shared his experience by saying that "innovation in research is a top priority of Chinese universities."

"The Chinese government and universities encourage Pakistani students to benefit from scholarships, grants, and funding for studying, conducting research, and participating international forums abroad," he said.

He believes that Pakistani students are also dedicated to learning Chinese language, culture and tradition, and looking forward to making a contribution in Sino-Pakistani relations, especially in CPEC.

Pakistani students should function as a bridge connecting the two countries.