Photo of Farhat Asif, president of Pakistan's Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies Photo: Guo Yuandan/GT

Chinese vaccines are better than others to Pakistani people, as they have been tested and produced with Asian genes and circumstances in mind, said the president of Pakistan's Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies.

Farhat Asif, founder and president of the institute, said that she recently received the Sinopharm vaccine in one of the country's government facilities. "I was proud to see this day, that modern science and medicine has brought forward this miracle that we are able to receive the vaccine to save ourselves from such a once in a century pathogen," she told the Global Times during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on People-to-people Friendship, which was held in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province on Thursday.

Asif said that she strongly believes the Chinese vaccines are better than the others to Pakistani people, as they have been tested and produced while taking into consideration Asian genes and circumstances.

"China has sent, as a gift, half a million doses of Sinopharm vaccine to Pakistan. This donation arrived at the right time, when Pakistan is grappling with rising COVID-19 cases in the country," said Asif.

She said that Pakistan became the first country to benefit from Chinese cooperation on sharing vaccine doses with its global partner countries, and arrival of this support reflects the all-weather friendship between Pakistan and China.

Pakistan has approved China's CanSino Biologics Inc's (CanSinoBIO) and Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use.

"This has been a timely and friendly gesture that shows only a friend indeed can help another friend in need. CanSinoBio has also been tested in Chile, Argentina, Russia and Mexico. In the fierce competition and politics involved in offering vaccines to the world, China through its important vaccine donation initiative has helped countries in need," said Asif.

She said that many countries are now battling the virus, and China was the first country to control the pandemic with zero percent indigenous transmissions and infections. This speedy recovery has helped the grand Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and connected nations to help build their own recoveries.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the biggest project under the BRI. According to Asif, CPEC remained safe from the outbreak. Despite the fact there are hundreds of thousands of Chinese nationals working in the country, not one single case has been reported so far.

Refuting the CPEC naysayers, Asif said that CPEC is currently in its second phase with a focus on industrial and agricultural cooperation along with socioeconomic development collaboration. 

CPEC is helping Pakistan alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the people connected to the project. It is expected that more than 2.3 million job opportunities will be provided as a result of the CPEC project, according to the organization head.