PM begins China visit today

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan, at the invitation of Premier of the State Council of the Peoples’ Republic of China, will visit China from October 8 (today) to October 9 and will hold meetings with the Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

President Jinping and Premier Keqiang will separately host banquets in honour of Prime Minister Khan. A number of agreements/Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed at a ceremony to be witnessed by the two prime ministers, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office here on Monday.

Prime Minister Khan will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Planning Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Special Assistant on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Zubair Gilani and senior officials.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa will join the Prime Minister’s meetings with Premier Keqiang and President Jinping, the statement mentioned.According to the statement, the visit of Prime Minister Khan was in continuation of the long-established tradition of the leadership of the two countries meeting regularly and consulting closely on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Khan will exchange views on regional developments including the state of peace and security in South Asia arising out of the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir since August 5. The visit will be instrumental in further cementing Pakistan’s economic, investment and strategic ties with China.

Among other things, the Prime Minister will apprise the Chinese leadership of the government’s recent landmark decisions to speed-up implementation of the ongoing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects as well as efforts to project CPEC as a High-Quality Demonstration Project of Belt and Road Initiative.

There will be interaction with senior representatives of the Chinese business and corporate sector as well for deepening bilateral trade, commercial and investment partnership. Prime Minister Khan will also be participating as chief guest at the closing ceremony of Beijing International Horticulture Expo where Premier Keqiang will be the host. “Pakistan and China are closest friends, staunch partners and ‘iron brothers’. The two countries are joined together in an ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’. This time-tested friendship between the two countries is based on unparalleled mutual trust, understanding and commonality of interests,” the Foreign Office said.

“The leadership of both the countries is fully committed to building closer China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the New Era,” the statement concluded.