Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday paid tribute to China's global initiatives at the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, saying the initiatives offer pillars for building a shared future for humanity.
Sharif addressed the general debate of the 81st session of the General Assembly, which opened on Tuesday, and will conclude on September 28.
"Here I pay tribute to the visionary leadership of President Xi Jinping for spearheading the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative. On these pillars, we can surely build a shared future for mankind," he said.
Pakistan is forging new pathways of cooperation with China through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and expanding cooperation with the Gulf region, Central Asia, and beyond, Sharif said.
During a high-level meeting on Wednesday on the sidelines of the General Assembly, the Pakistani prime minister noted that the CPEC complements the priorities of Pakistan's development strategy and contributes to the country's broader development goals.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking Gwadar Port in Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while in the new phase, it expands to fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others.
Sharif pays tribute to China's global initiatives at UN General Assembly
The ongoing 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai has introduced a drone event combining engineering, programming and piloting, underscoring demand for multidisciplinary technicians as unmanned aircraft find wider commercial use.
The four-day Unmanned Aerial Systems contest began Wednesday at Shanghai's National Exhibition and Convention Center, with results due at the closing ceremony on Sunday.
All 11 competitors spent the opening day assembling and calibrating their drones. China's entrant Zeng Chen, an instructor at the Hangzhou Technician Institute in east China's Zhejiang Province, was the first to complete the assembly and begin a test flight, according to the event's competition manager.
Across six modules, competitors must shift among three roles: engineer, programmer and pilot. They assemble and repair drones, debug software and write flight plans, perform complex maneuvers and respond to emergencies.
That mix mirrors the real-world job of an unmanned aerial systems technician, a role that spans aerodynamics, flight-control systems, communications, robotics and software.
"The obstacle-avoidance module requires competitors to process point-cloud data, which is then used to generate a three-dimensional indoor map. The task is a bit like navigating a maze. The drones may also have to carry sandbags or other payloads for remote delivery, making that part extremely challenging," said Gu Junjie, a coach for the Unmanned Aerial Systems competition.
Judges assess competitors on their adherence to operating procedures, work quality, completion time and ability to diagnose and resolve faults.
Zeng's performance over the first three days drew praise from Alan Ball, unmanned aerial systems skill competition manager.
"Chinese competitor -- he has done very well in the competition so far. Yes, in the overseas market, the drones are used in multiple different industries, from security to agriculture to safety to surveys, mapping. As a career as a drone technician, I think, globally, the future of drones is very bright," Ball said.
Drone event at WorldSkills spotlights demand for multidisciplinary talent
