During a press conference on June 1, the Ambassador of Pakistan Masood Khan released President Zardari's schedule for his upcoming visit to China.

"Our president, Asif Ali Zardari will visit China next week. He will come to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, and he will also meet with Chinese leaders, President Hu Jintao and Vice President Xi Jinping."

He started off his statement by talking about the deep relationships, inter-personal contacts, cultural exchanges and economic cooperation between China and Pakistan.

The ambassador mentioned that there are many high-level state visits between Pakistan and China. He said that President Zardari's upcoming visit would be his 9th visit to China. "Recently, China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi was in Pakistan. There, he met with the president and the prime minister."

"When president Zardari is here, he will meet with the Chinese leadership. They will conduct talks regarding both our nations' viewpoints on the strategic relationship we share between our countries. In addition, we will try to promote economic cooperation in multiple areas, but specifically in the areas of energy, infrastructure and agriculture," the ambassador said.

In regards to Pakistan's younger generation's affinity with China, the ambassador said: "In the recent past, there has been an enormous surge in the interest to learn Chinese among Pakistani youngsters," he stated, "Nowadays, learning Chinese has become very popular. The National University of Modern languages now even features a Confucius Institute. There is a growing demand for more Confucius Institutes throughout Pakistan." The ambassador also mentioned that China's Ministry of Education has approved the construction of more Confucius Institutes in Pakistan in order to promote the study of Chinese language and the understanding of Chinese culture. He also said that many other universities and schools are currently undertaking related initiatives.

"Pakistan has been an observer since 2005 and we have been actively participated in various conferences and different events organized by SCO," the ambassador explained. "Recently, we have felt the strong desire to become a full member and we have submitted an application. This application has been received by the members and secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

In response to the question of whether or not Pakistan can become a member of the SCO, the ambassador stated that the acceptance of any new member has been on the agenda of the SCO summit and all countries involved are very supportive. "It is just a matter of time. There is no deadline. But it is our wish and our expectation that this will happen as soon as possible."

As for the question of the nation's role in the SCO, the ambassador said: "I would say that Pakistan would play a very constructive and effective role." He said that Pakistan wants to achieve common prosperity and harmony and will make contributions to help the economic development of the region.

In response to questions regarding the nation's past comments on SCO workings, the ambassador said: "I think that over the past 10 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has achieved an outstanding track record."

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