KARACHI, Aug 24: A delegation from the Chinese Institute of International Studies (CIIS) held discussions with scholars and students at the University of Karachi on Wednesday.

The subject of discussion, which was arranged by the Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE), University of Karachi, was “Role of China in the Contemporary International Scenario”.

Speaking at the meeting, Ambassador Ma Zhengang, President of CIIS, who also led the delegation, said China was at present directing its energies on achieving modernization for which it needed a peaceful and stable regional and international environment.

“China, therefore, was making efforts to develop cordial relations with all major powers, including the US, the European Union and its neighbours; Russia, Japan, ASEAN countries, India and other South Asian countries,” he mentioned.

He said China had completed the first two stages of the “Four Modernizations” initiated by Deng Xiao Ping in the late seventies.

However, according to him, it had yet to achieve economic development, which would help it raise its per capita income at par with the developed countries of the West.

The scholar remarked that the basic principle, which shaped China’s foreign policy, was; strengthening cooperation with the international community and promoting world peace and stability.

While referring to large-scale migration of population from the rural areas of China to its developed urban centres, he maintained that it was contributing to serious economic and social problems.

“Development is concentrated in the urban areas while the rural areas are still economically depressed,” he added, saying such issues were yet to be tackled effectively by China.

The Director of ASCE, Prof Dr Naveed Ahmad Tahir, said China’s phenomenal development in recent years had aroused apprehensions in the West and other power centres over whether an economically powerful China would remain a peaceful and law-abiding member of the international community or would develop regional and global hegemonic ambitions.

Among others, Dr Lutfullah Mangi of the University of Sindh, Brig A.R. Siddiqui and Ambassador (Retd) Mehdi Masood participated in the discussion with the Chinese delegation.