ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have established an 18-outlet news exchange and a dedicated fact-checking mechanism under a newly launched information corridor aimed at expanding media cooperation, Pakistan’s information minister said on Tuesday.

The China–Pakistan Information Corridor is intended to complement the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing’s flagship multibillion dollar energy, infrastructure and industrial investment program in Pakistan, by strengthening communication and public understanding of bilateral cooperation.

The information corridor brings together four areas of cooperation: media, business and enterprise, think tanks and culture, tourism and youth. Officials say these activities will connect institutions and people in both countries while building support for their partnership.

“A news exchange working group of 18 Pakistani and Chinese media organizations,” including state broadcasters and private channels, “now share verified news on our cooperation,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at the information corridor’s launch in Islamabad.

“Alongside it, a dedicated fact check mechanism tracks misleading narratives and answers them with concrete facts.”

Tarar named Chinese news agency Xinhua, China Media Group and People’s Daily among the participants in the media component.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning and Ambassador Jiang Zaidong attended the ceremony at the Pakistan–China Friendship Center.

“We’re still facing misinformation, fake news, and lies,” Mao said. “I believe that’s the very reason why the launch of CPIC is necessary, important, and right on time.”

The ambassador said the information corridor would help create a more favorable public opinion environment for practical cooperation, particularly the next phase of CPEC.

The proposal dates back at least to March 2024, when Tarar discussed establishing an information corridor with the Chinese ambassador and called for coordination to counter what he described as fake news about CPEC.

BUSINESS, RESEARCH AND CULTURAL EXCHANGES

Beyond media cooperation, the information corridor’s business component has opened its first regional office in Karachi, Tarar said.

It is developing a portal to track trade, investment and foreign direct investment, alongside a podcast series featuring Chinese entrepreneurs in Pakistan and Pakistani entrepreneurs in China.

The think-tank component, led by the Pakistan–China Institute, will bring Pakistani research institutions together with Chinese counterparts for joint discussions, research and publications.

Under the culture, tourism and youth component, the first cohort of youth ambassadors has been nominated from 13 Pakistani universities.

That component also includes work on a proposed Xinjiang–Gilgit-Baltistan tourism corridor, intended to extend visits by Chinese travelers into northern Pakistan, and a Pakistan–China friendship rally.