By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed on Saturday for a four-day official visit to China, where he will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang as the two countries mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
The trip, from May 23 to 26, is intended to reaffirm what both nations call their “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” and to push forward practical cooperation in trade, investment, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, known as CPEC.
Sharif’s delegation includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.
The visit begins in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, where Sharif will chair a Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference focused on information technology and telecommunications, battery energy storage systems, and agriculture. He is also scheduled to meet the Zhejiang party secretary, visit the headquarters of Alibaba Group, and witness the signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding between Pakistani and Chinese companies.
Officials said he will hold separate meetings with chief executives of major Chinese firms and visit the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences to advance cooperation in agricultural modernization.
Sharif will then travel to Beijing for the political and strategic centrepiece of the trip: talks with Xi and Li. The two sides plan to review cooperation across political, economic, and strategic domains, with particular emphasis on the “high-quality development” of CPEC, trade and investment, industrial cooperation, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
A statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office described the timing as significant. “The visit assumes special significance as Pakistan and China commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations,” it said. “It will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the abiding strength of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and advance the shared vision of building an even closer Pakistan-China community with a shared future.”
The statement added that the visit is expected “to further deepen political trust, strengthen strategic coordination, expand practical cooperation, and consolidate the longstanding friendship between Pakistan and China.”
Regional tensions will also feature prominently. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters Friday that the ongoing US-Iran conflict is expected to come up in Sharif’s discussions with Chinese leaders. Pakistan and China have maintained close coordination on the Middle East standoff, he said, noting that Deputy Prime Minister Dar’s visit to Beijing last month produced agreement on a five-point peace initiative.
That joint statement called for dialogue, a ceasefire, protection of civilian and nuclear facilities, safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and adherence to the United Nations Charter. Pakistan has increasingly cast itself as a potential intermediary between Tehran and Washington since the conflict escalated in February following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Beijing has emerged as an important diplomatic supporter of Islamabad’s mediation efforts in the Gulf. Andrabi said the issue would be discussed “during the prime minister’s visit,” reflecting what Pakistani officials describe as deepening strategic coordination between the two governments on Middle East and Gulf matters.
The trip comes as both countries seek to move CPEC into a new phase that emphasises industrial cooperation, technology transfer, and agricultural development beyond the large-scale infrastructure projects that defined its earlier years. Pakistani officials have signalled that the B2B conference and the Alibaba visit are meant to produce concrete business deals and investment commitments.
Sharif’s office described the visit as aimed at “strengthening bilateral strategic cooperation and expanding economic engagement between the two countries.” The Foreign Office said the leaders will also attend an event in Beijing hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to mark the anniversary of diplomatic ties.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
