"As more Pakistani youth are learning Chinese, there are also more Chinese who want to learn about the Pakistani language and culture.

As Chinese students, we are striving to learn Urdu to better communicate with our iron brothers." The first prize winner of the Urdu Language Essay Competition for Chinese Students, Ren Ziyi (Ibtisam) said, according to a report published by Gwadar Pro on Saturday.

The Chinese-Urdu Essay Writing Competition sponsored by the Pakistani embassy in China and organized by the Silk Road Cities Alliance, came to a successful conclusion on September 30.

On the theme of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, the competition organization section has invited Pakistani students to write essay in Chinese and Chinese students to write essay in Urdu. Since its launch in July, the event has received positive response from young people of the two countries.

Pakistani and Chinese ambassadors, professors from Minzu University of China (MUC) and Urdu teachers from Pakistan Embassy College in Beijing were invited as judges.

With rigorous professional attitude, they selected excellent works regarding the spiritual connotation, language expression, logical structure and other dimensions.

Ayaz Muhammad, a Pakistani competitor who won the first prize, talked about the exchanges and cooperation between Pakistan and China in the field of education with his own experience of studying in China as a starting point.

In his Chinese article "China-Pakistan Educational Exchange and Cooperation", he said that the rapid development of China and the implementation of preferential policies under CPEC have stimulated the demand for Chinese language courses among Pakistani youth.

Ibtisam wins the champion of Urdu essay competition. In her Urdu essay, she outlined the cooperation and common development of the two countries in 70 years. In particular, Pakistan provided timely supports to China after the Wenchuan earthquake.

The two countries are constantly strengthening cooperation in infrastructure construction and agriculture under the framework of CPEC in the new era. She believed that Urdu is very important as a bridge of communication, and she was willing to make more contributions to this cherished friendship by using language advantages.

The essay writing competition is one of the special arrangements of the 4th Silk Road & Young Dreams, which is jointly hosted by Silk Road Cities Alliance, China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development, Beijing Belt and Road Cooperative Community, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China, China Nationality Culture Foundation. Its awarding ceremony is expected to be held on October 25, in Beijing.