On November 18, 2018, Prof. Tao Yitao, director of the China Center for Special Economic Zone Research (CCSEZR), Shenzhen University and president of the Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development (BRRIICD) had a meeting with Amer Hashmi, director of Pakistan Global Think-Tank Network (GTTN) and project supervisor Atif Bilal in a meeting room of an office building. Among the participants were Yuan Yiming, professor and deputy director of the CCSEZR, Gao Xingmin, professor and deputy director, Li Fan, professor and director assistant of the CCSEZR, Yun Wenjie, and Xu Jingzhang, teachers of the research institute.
At the meeting, both sides had in-depth exchanges on the development experience of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Sino-Pakistan cooperation under the context of the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative and the preparations for the 2019 World Special Economic Zone Development (Islamabad) Forum.
Prof. Tao Yitao extended a warm welcome to the group led by Amer Hashmi. She believed that it's very necessary to enhance communications with think tanks from countries along the Belt and Road under the context of the "Belt and Road" Initiative. Pakistan has been the friendliest neighboring country of China and the friendship between two peoples boasts a long history. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a shared aspiration of two peoples and the CCSEZR as a think tank is ready to render full intellectual support. Prof. Tao Titao also gave a brief introduction of the development history of China's SEZs.
Prof. Yuan Yiming elucidated them on the overview of the CCSEZR. The CCSEZR is the solely academic institution focusing on SEZs among key research bases for humanities and social sciences under the Ministry of Education and has been committed to studying the SEZ problems over the past twenty years. The CCSEZR has published the Annual Report on the Development of China's Special Economic Zones (Blue Book) for twelve years in a row and founded the Studies on China's Special Economic Zones, the sole bilingual academic journal offering an authoritative study on SEZs in China. To date, the two books have been published and distributed outside China by Springer, a German publishing house. The CCSEZR also prides itself on an academic forum brand with certain clout in and outside of China, the "World Special Economic Zone Development Forum" which has been held in countries including Vietnam and the far east region of Russia 19 times in a row. The Forum wins unanimous recognition from experts and scholars in and outside of China by exploring the path choice of China's institutional change, demonstrating the uniqueness of the China’s path, and providing useful experience and solutions for emerging market economies.
Subsequently, teacher Xu Jingzhang gave an overview of the BRRIICD which developed partnerships with overseas universities, think tanks and organizations while establishing "The Belt and Road Think Tank Alliance", "The Belt and Road University President Alliance" and "The Belt and Road Artist Alliance". BRRIICD established the mechanisms for sharing successful experience of China's SEZs with CEOs and officials from countries along the Belt and Road and training on the SEZ planning and administration, and set up the Belt and Road scholarships and financial aid and the Belt and Road scholarships for postdoctoral researchers. The projects conducted by the BRRIICD captured the attention of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee (IDCPC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries and commissions and gained certain clout among countries along the Belt and Road.
Amer Hashmi, director of Pakistan GTTN, highly appreciated the achievements of the CCSEZR and BRRIICD. He mentioned the government of Pakistan’s plan to set up 9 SEZs under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and expressed his wish that the CCSEZR will provide consulting about the construction of SEZs for Pakistan and that Pakistan will further learn about the development experience of China's SEZs and "the Belt and Road" Initiative by communications with the scholars of the CCSEZR. Subsequently, both sides discussed for two days over the related matters of 2019 World Special Economic Zones Development (Islamabad) Forum coorganized by the CCSEZR and the GTTN, and reached a consensus on the organization of the Forum.
On November 20, the signing ceremony of "the Agreement on the Joint Preparations of 2019 World Special Economic Zones Development Forum between the CCSEZR and the GTTN" was held in a meeting room of an office building where Prof. Tao Yitao and director Amer Hashmi signed the agreement. The signing ceremony was attened by teacher representatives of the CCSEZR and We Hua, deputy general manager of the Department of International Affairs of Shanxi Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. in parnership with the forum.
Prof. Tao Yitao said that many issues related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor remain to be studied and that think tanks between China and Pakistan will provide consulting services for Chinese enterprises' investment into Pakistan. Through joint preparations of 2019 World Special Economic Zones Development (Islamabad) Forum, China and Pakistan will widen cooperation and increase academic exchange activities, bridging communications for entrepreneurs and investors of both countries.
Director Amer Hashmi extended his gratitude for the cordial hospitality of Prof. Tao Yitao and teachers of the CCSEZR. Pakistan stands ready to further cooperate with China in the establishment of SEZs and welcomes the investments from Chinese entrepreneurs into Pakistan and expects entrepreneurs of both countries to explore a win-win solution for cooperation under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The meeting was successfully closed in a friendly atmosphere.
