Friendship with China to extend "from Earth to space": former Pakistani PM

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has hailed the deepening cooperation between China and Pakistan in space exploration, saying the two countries' long-standing friendship and mutual trust are poised to extend from the Earth into space.

In an interview with the China Media Group (CMG) during a recent visit to China, Kakar highlighted the vast opportunities which have emerged following a cooperation agreement signed between the two governments in February, which will see Pakistani astronauts trained to take part in future space missions.

The deal marks the first time China will train foreign astronauts, paving the way for the arrival of the first foreign visitor to China's Tiangong space station.

Following the agreement, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced in April that it would select and train two Pakistani astronauts, with one slated to serve as a payload specialist on a future Chinese space station flight.

Kakar said the decision reflects the high level of strategic mutual trust between the two sides and demonstrates that bilateral cooperation has entered a new stage featuring broader scope and deeper engagement.

"We are electrified, we are super excited, this journey from the planet to space, from planet Earth to space is an amazing journey of partnership, of friendship, of reliability, of trustworthiness towards one another. The people, the nation, the countries who can trust one another on the planet would be trusting each other in space. That could be an amazing moment. And all of the Pakistani nation is really looking forward for that moment and we are super excited," said Kakar.

Earlier this year, China also granted Pakistani scientists with access to lunar samples collected by the country's Chang'e-5 mission, further highlighting the collaboration in space and scientific research.

China has been deepening its role in international space research and cooperation in recent years, partnering with over 60 other institutions and 17 other nations to advance lunar and deep space exploration.

Friendship with China to extend "from Earth to space": former Pakistani PM

The more people-to-people exchanges there are between China and the U.S., especially between young people, the better bilateral relations will become, according to Max Baucus, the former US Ambassador to China.

Baucus who has dedicated himself to people-to-people connections between the two nations in the world for years, talked about the importance of citizens from both nations getting better acquainted in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday.

"I think the more Americans go to China and the more Chinese visit America, the better the relationship will be. It's that simple. It's really sad today. About 260,000 Chinese students study in the United States even today. Only about 700 American students today study in China. It's a huge, huge mismatch. I believe that the more I can encourage more Americans, including students, to go to China, the better-off we're going to be. I know it's trite, but they're gonna be our leaders. They're our future leaders. One man downtown here where I live stopped me on the street and said, 'Oh, Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much! My daughter was going to go to China. I was so afraid of her going to China. She has come back so excited! Oh, I thank you very much for sending her to China!' I get comments like this all the time," said Baucus.

More youth exchanges between China, US would boost bilateral ties: former ambassador