By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Xi Jinping welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to the Great Hall of the People on Monday, saying the two nations’ “unbreakable” friendship is constant in an uncertain world and pledging to build an even closer “China-Pakistan community with a shared future.”
The meeting came on the third day of Sharif’s four-day official visit, which began Saturday with a stop in Hangzhou before the delegation arrived in the capital. Sharif was accompanied by Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of army staff and chief of defense forces, who had flown overnight from Tehran after wrapping up mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran.
Xi greeted Sharif as an “old friend” and recalled that China and Pakistan have “understood, trusted, and supported each other” for decades. “Despite international changes, China has always prioritised Pakistan relations in our neighbourhood diplomacy,” he said. The Chinese leader told Sharif that Beijing is ready to “move faster to build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era” and to produce “more results in our all-weather cooperation” that would contribute to regional peace and stability.
Xi singled out Munir’s recent shuttle diplomacy, saying, “I know that you have just returned from Iran and made positive efforts to mediate for peace. We appreciate the constructive role of Pakistan.” Pakistan has been working to broker a lasting end to the US-Iran conflict that flared earlier this year; a rickety ceasefire was reached in April, and Washington has since reported progress in negotiations.
Sharif, in turn, described the two countries as “iron brothers” whose relationship is “next to none.” He credited the founding leaders of both nations with laying the foundation for 75 years of diplomatic ties and said Islamabad and Beijing would now “build this relationship from strength to strength.” The prime minister announced plans for year-long celebrations to mark the anniversary and praised Xi’s leadership in transforming China into an economic and military power “meant for progress and peace in the world.”
He drew particular attention to the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, saying they reflected Xi’s focus on shared prosperity. “I draw a lot of strength from your leadership,” Sharif said. He also noted Pakistan’s own domestic reforms under the banner of “Uraan Pakistan” and said the two sides would align Beijing’s upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan with Islamabad’s development priorities in industrialization, connectivity, agriculture, clean energy, science and technology, and digital transformation.
A statement issued by Sharif’s office said the meeting was “most warm and cordial.” It said the prime minister thanked Xi for China’s support of Pakistan’s sovereignty and economic stability, reaffirmed Islamabad’s adherence to the One China Principle, and highlighted Pakistan’s selection of astronauts for China’s space station program as a symbol of deepening cooperation in strategic domains.
Earlier on Monday, Sharif held delegation-level talks with Premier Li Qiang at the same venue. He told Li that the world was passing through “a very critical moment” and urged the two countries to “really be together” so that peace could be restored in the Middle East and “business as usual starts again.” Sharif thanked Beijing for backing Pakistan’s mediation between Washington and Tehran, noted Munir’s overnight travel to attend the meetings, and said he fully endorsed Xi’s four-point proposal for regional peace. He also extended condolences for the recent deadly gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi province that killed at least 82 people.
The two sides witnessed the signing of 15 memorandums of understanding and cooperation agreements covering trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology, climate change, education, media, and people-to-people exchanges. Among them were an economic development cooperation pact, an environment and climate change agreement, protocols to ease the export of Pakistani dried fruits, nuts, and maize to China, a letter of handover for veterinary vaccine donations, and accords on conformity assessment, news cooperation, counterterrorism equipment, and human resource development. Separate deals were signed between the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Pakistan’s National School of Public Policy, between China Foreign Affairs University and Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy, and for the co-production of documentaries.
On Sunday in Hangzhou, Pakistani and Chinese companies signed business agreements and MoUs worth $1.22 billion in renewable energy, electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and smart technologies. Sharif also met with executives from Alibaba Group as part of an effort to expand commercial ties. Both leaders agreed that CPEC had already played a transformative role in Pakistan’s socio-economic development and looked forward to its next phase. They pledged to maintain close coordination, accelerate agreed projects, and turn the 75th anniversary into “a new phase of strategic, practical, and future-oriented cooperation.” Sharif is scheduled to attend a reception hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries later this week to commemorate the diplomatic milestone.
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