A Pakistani youth delegation is visiting northwestern China in an effort to deepen exchanges with Chinese youths.

The 105-member delegation, headed by Minister for Youth Affairs Shahid Hussain Bhutto, includes government officials, university students, entrepreneurs, artists and athletes.

The delegation arrived in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sunday where they visited companies and schools and met local youths. They continued their tour in the neighboring Gansu Province on Tuesday.

While meeting the delegation Tuesday, Zhang Xiaolan, vice governor of Gansu, expressed gratitude to Pakistan for its swift assistance after the 8.0-magnitude earthquake last year in southwestern Sichuan Province and neighboring provinces including Gansu.

Zhang hoped the delegates could, through their visit, acquire a better understanding of Gansu's politics, economy, culture, ethnic affairs and youth work.

Bhutto said he was full of confidence about deepening exchanges and cooperation between young people of the two countries.

The delegation will stay in Gansu for four days, visiting Muslim families and mosques and talking with university students.

The nine-day visit took place at the invitation of the All-China Youth Federation.

The last stop of the delegation is Beijing. They are scheduled to leave China on April 27.

Chinese President Hu Jintao invited 500 young people from Pakistan to visit China within five years when he paid a state visit to Pakistan in November 2006. The program was launched in 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2009)