BEIJING: China’s Sichuan province has turned into a major hub of Pakistan-China bilateral cooperation both in military and socio-economic sectors.

Major companies are coming from Chengdu, Sichuan region that are heavily investing in Pakistan, giving boost to their trade and military-to-military relationship.

Official sources said today that Pakistan’s in a recent conference held in Chengdu reiterated its resolve to bring this region closer to Pakistan for their socio-economic uplift and developing people-to-people contacts.

Amna Baloch, Pakistan's consul-general in Chengdu, advocated creating more opportunities for face-to-face dialogue between enterprises from Sichuan and Pakistan, and encouraged more Sichuan corporations to invest in Punjab that has been declared sister province of Sichuan.

Since the United States set up its consulate general in Chengdu, in 1985, 16 countries including Pakistan have built their consulates general in the city. All of these countries consider their consulates general in Chengdu to be their stronghold in Southwest China, through which they are able to deepen their economic and cultural ties with the region by taking part in projects relating to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Sichuan, especially Chengdu, occupies an important position in the implementation of the strategy, which was proposed in 2013 by the Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote global interconnectivity, cooperation and development.

Cities in Sichuan have more than 90 twin towns and sister cities in Europe, an important partner for China in the Belt and Road Initiative. More than 500 European corporations have invested or are currently investing in Sichuan.

Sichuan is a big province in science and technology, and is currently seeking more innovative forces to drive their growth.

Chengdu has many tourist attractions, picturesque landscapes and deeply rooted cultural traditions. It makes Lati feel relaxed, and makes him believe the city has huge potential.

The Punjab government signed an agreement of sister city relation between Chengdu last year.

Under the agreement, the two provinces are engaged in carry out cooperation in the fields of education, culture, sports, youth affairs, urban planning, waste water management, infrastructure, environment, public health and exchange of trade and commercial delegations.

It may be mentioned here that thunder multi-role fighter J-17 thunder was being manufactured jointly by China and Pakistan. The development started in 1999. Most of the development was carried out in China by Chengdu,