Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that the top priority is to make every effort to prevent the conflict from reigniting in the Middle East and maintain the hard-won momentum of the ceasefire. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
During their phone conversation, Dar briefed Wang on Pakistan's mediation efforts to facilitate talks between Iran and the United States, and expressed appreciation for China's efforts to promote peace. He also voiced Pakistan's willingness to maintain close communication and coordination with China to jointly play a constructive role in realizing regional peace.
Reiterating China's principled position, Wang commended Pakistan for facilitating a temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran and for hosting the Islamabad talks, where it played a fair and balanced mediating role.
The current ceasefire is fragile, and the regional situation is at a critical turning point, said Wang.
He urged the international community to step up efforts to promote peace and dialogue, and take a clear stand against any action that could undermine the ceasefire or escalate confrontation.
The five-point initiative for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East region proposed by China and Pakistan reflects the consensus of the international community on promoting peace and can continue to serve as a direction of efforts toward resolving the issue, said Wang.
China welcomes Pakistan's greater role, and stands ready to work with Pakistan and the rest of the international community to continue making positive contributions to an early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East, said the Chinese minister.
Chinese FM calls for preserving hard-won momentum of ceasefire in Iran
Chinese FM calls for preserving hard-won momentum of ceasefire in Iran
India, home to one of the world's youngest populations, is witnessing a growing number of students heading to China in search of quality education and stronger career prospects.
Fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics and engineering are seeing a notable rise in enrollments.
Naresh Patra, a researcher in astrophysics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, chose to study in China for what he describes as the excellent value for the potential boost to his career.
"First thing, the education system is very good and expenses are too low. And second point [is that] you will get good exposure about machine learning and AI, and third point you will get jobs immediately after passing from these universities," said Naresh Patra, a student from India.
There has been a noticeable surge in inquiries from Indian students for courses in engineering and artificial intelligence. To attract more international applicants, Chinese universities have ramped up investment in world-class infrastructure, including advanced laboratories, while expanding scholarship offerings across a wide range of disciplines.
Akshay Bhambri is among those who secured such a scholarship, supporting his research in traditional medicine. He describes his academic experience in China as highly professional and well-structured.
"In different departments, there are enough resources to do that, and even in libraries, whatever you need is provided immediately to you. So this kind of environment for a researcher, for a student, be it undergrad or PhD student, is very helpful when they want to do some kind of research or some kind of understanding to get what they want immediately, so that they can excel in their work," said the researcher.
Cross-border studies are also foundational to forming academic partnerships between China and India, but experts say that even greater outreach and engagement are needed.
"It will be more possible if there is a higher level, not just the people-to-people level, but (if) we see the authorities from both sides interact, and university-to-university interactions, in that case, there would be a lot of confidence building," said Nishith Shah, principal of India China Academy.
More Indian students choose Chinese universities for quality education
