China, Pakistan sign co-op agreements worth over 10 billion yuan

URUMQI - China and Pakistan on Wednesday signed 20 cooperation agreements, worth 10.35 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), and issued the "Karamay Manifesto" on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major project in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

More than 300 officials and delegates from companies, think tanks and social organizations witness the signing of the agreements at the closing ceremony of the first China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Forum held in the oil-rich city of Karamay, north Xinjiang.

The two-day event featured forums on topics including city-to-city and industrial cooperation, and youth exchange.

The two countries pledged to boost bilateral economic development through energy and power projects, and will also cooperate in education and health care.

According to the Karamay Manifesto, the CPEC Forum will continue to be held regularly. It praised the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative for the political trust, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges of the countries along the road.

The CPEC will link Gwadar Port, Pakistan, with Xinjiang by way of highways, railways as well as pipelines. It is among the six economic corridors crucial to China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.