Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s PM met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday. With this meeting he became the first head of the country to visit China since x’s re-election for the third time.
Following his meeting with Xi in Uzbekistan in September, this is Sharif’s second trip to China since taking office in April of this year. “During his maiden 2-days visit to China, PM Shehbaz Sharif and President Xi Jinping met at the People’s Great Hall of China to discuss broad-based cooperation in economy and investment and exchanged views on regional and global developments,” tweeted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
A high-ranking group, led by Sharif, also includes Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He will also discuss the All-Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership between China and Pakistan with Premier Li Keqiang at the delegation level.
“I would be soon in Beijing on my first bilateral visit after assuming office, and that too at an opportune time, soon after the successful conclusion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” Sharif said ahead of his visit.
“For Pakistan, relations with China form the cornerstone of our foreign policy; in China, Pakistan is described as Ba Tie i.e. China’s Iron Brother, and elsewhere our ties are appreciated for their unique strength, enduring permanence and unfathomable trust,” he wrote.
“My discussions with Chinese leadership will focus on revitalization of CPEC among many other things. 2nd phase of CPEC promises to usher in a new era of socio-economic progress that will uplift quality of our people’s lives. There is a lot to learn from Chinese economic miracle,” Sharif tweeted.
Meanwhile, China raised the issue of safety and security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan ahead of Sharif’s visit.