Both as sinologists and speaking fluent Chinese, the father and son have contributed dozens of articles about China’s development and China-Pakistan cooperation on Chinese and international media. 

 

They participate almost all forums, conferences and activities related to China, stand up for China on all occasions, and regard the promotion of China-Pakistan friendship as their lifework.   

 

They are Zamir Ahmed Awan, the father and Moaaz Awan, the son. 

 

The father: benefit from and work for China-Pakistan friendship 

 

Zamir Ahmed Awan, 57 years old, is the deputy director of the Center for Chinese Studies, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan. 

 

 

Zamir is a true China hand as he has studied and worked in this country for many years. He said, making friends with Chinese and working for China-Pakistan amity are his greatest happiness.  

 

“I came to study in China when I was 18 years old and left at the age of 25. With seven years’ golden time spending in China and receiving higher education here with my Chinese friends, I have thoroughly embraced the Chinese ways of thinking and their character. Though I’m a Pakistani with a foreign outlook, you will find I’m more of a Chinese inside, once you get familiar with me,” said Zamir.   

 

Zamir came to China at a time when the nation just carried out the reform and opening-up policy. As various goods and materials were in extreme shortage, people had to exchange coupons for the according life necessities. During that hard time, the university and his teachers and classmates took good care of Zamir, which had left a deep impression on him and since then.  

 

The second time Zamir came to China was in 2010 when he was assigned as the sci-tech and education counselor of the Pakistani Embassy, and this time he was accompanied by his wife and four sons. 

 

To his surprise, Zamir found China had undergone tremendous changes in the past dozens of years. Skyscrapers were everywhere, transportation very convenient and goods and materials abundant. 

 

He said, “When I studied here, China lagged 25 years behind Pakistan. Now, China races 50 years ahead of Pakistan’s development.” 

 

Thanks to the opportunity provided by the Embassy, Zamir felt relieved and delighted that he could finally do something practical for China-Pakistan cooperation with what he had learned from China. 

 

During his tenure, Zamir introduced China’s hybrid wheat to Pakistan in the hope of increasing the yield as well as farmers’ income. He also promoted China’s hybrid rice, corn and vegetables in Pakistan, which all have delivered good results. 

 

For Zamir, he was most proud of his achievements in education sector, as he managed to encourage many Chinese universities to enlarge the recruitments of Pakistani students from the original 2,000 ones in 2010 to 18,000 in 2016.   

 

After leaving the office in 2016, Zamir returned to NUST, established a China Study Center, and launched a course named China’s Development Experience. 

 

Every year, Zamir would lead a batch of students to take a field trip in China, by which they can witness the greatness of this nation with their own eyes. He has guided 83 students for the tour since 2016.

 

The son: a constructor of China-Pakistan Friendship in the future  

 

Cultivating the young Pakistanis to study China is not the only way of showing his preference for this nation, Zamir has been intentionally guiding his children to love China with words and deeds since they were little kids. He told them everything about China, which had become an indispensable topic for their discussions at home.  

 

Influenced by Zamir and Pakistan’s school education, Moaaz Awan, Zamir’s eldest son and the second son both have chosen to study in China.

 

 

Moaaz once attended a youth summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and made a speech on behalf of the young Pakistanis. He promoted Pakistani culture and foods to Chinese at a cultural festival held in China’s Tianjin University. Moaaz also acted as an anchor of a program themed “CPEC TIME”, jointly produced by PTV and China Economic Net (CEN) to introduce the opportunities and challenges of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. 

 

Moaaz, in the eyes of his father, though a student, fully deserves the title of a non-governmental diplomat.    

 

Following the steps of his father, Moaaz is also keen on studying and writing articles about China. Even though some European universities invited him to do research in Europe, Moaaz never think of leaving China. 

 

As in his contemplation, he is destined to be connected with China and the CPEC in the future. 

 

Moaaz said, “The CPEC infrastructure projects have improved transportation and alleviated the power shortage for Pakistan, and all of these are very good. However, CPEC is not merely a highway, or a power station but a complete system. Upon these projects’ completion, how they will play a long-term role for China and Pakistan’s economic development, how they will drive the development of western China and that of Pakistan are my research priorities in the future.”

 

When mentioning his eldest son and the second son, Zamir made no secret of his pride. He praised them with an old Chinese saying, "Indigo blue is from indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself", which means his sons excel their master—Zamir, himself. 

 

Zamir said he would support his two younger sons to study in China if they would like to. From Zamir’s point of view, if only the youth of the two countries know each other and deepen their friendship, the two countries’ relationship will embrace a brighter future.