2024 official visit by Shehbaz Sharif to China

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At the invitation of Premier of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif paid an official visit to China from 4 to 8 June 2024.[1][2][3][4]

The two sides discuss further strengthening the all-weather strategic partnership between the two countries, upgrading the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, promoting trade and investment, enhancing cooperation in the fields of security and defense, energy, aerospace, science and technology, and education; and promoting humanistic cooperation and humanistic exchanges to lead the future trajectory of Pakistan–China friendship.[5][6][7][8]

Background

On 30 May 2024, China successfully launched the Pakistani multi-mission communications satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center using a Long March 3B carrier rocket, and the satellite was successfully placed in its intended orbit. The Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif congratulated the launch.[9]

At the regular press conference held on 31 May 2024, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said that China looks forward to working with the Pakistani side to take this visit as an opportunity to jointly promote greater development of China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, and to build a closer China-Pakistan community of destiny in the new era to take new steps. [10]

On 3 June 2024, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, announced at a press conference about Shehbaz Sharif's China visit. Apart from Beijing, the Prime Minister will also visit Xi'an and Shenzhen. The spokesman said a key element of the premier's visit will be to meet with executives of leading Chinese companies in the fields of oil and gas, energy, information and communications technology and emerging technologies.[5]

On 4 June, the new Gwadar International Airport in Gwadar, Pakistan, conducted a five-day flight test, marking the upcoming final sprint of the project, which is one of the flagship projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.[11]

Meeting

Shenzhen

On 4 June, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif arrived in Shenzhen, Guangdong. On his arrival at Shenzhen Airport, the Prime Minister was greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, the Pakistani Ambassador to China and senior diplomatic officials.[12] During his two-day visit to Shenzhen, Prime Minister Shahbaz and his delegation met with leaders of the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments, as well as leading Chinese companies in the field of innovation and high technology. He also inaugurated the Pakistan-China Business Conference,[13] where he assured full facilitation to Chinese investors and security of Chinese individuals, projects and investments in Pakistan, emphasizing that mutually beneficial business-to-business cooperation is the key to a better future for the people of both countries.[14][15]

On 5 June, the chairman of Transsion Holdings paid a visit to the Prime Minister, expressing Transsion's intention to increase its investment in the cell phone manufacturing business, investing in electric bicycles, modern agriculture, cell phones and other fields.[16] Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited Huawei's Shenzhen headquarters and invited the company to invest in Pakistan's tax and e-government sectors.[17]

Beijing

Prime Minister Shahbaz met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People

On 5 June, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif arrived in Beijing, the capital of China, and was greeted by Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.[18]

On 6 June, Sharif met with the Chairman of China North Industries Corporation (CNIC) and emphasized that the Government of Pakistan is taking measures to promote ease of doing business and has set up a Special Investment Facilitation Committee (SIFC) for this purpose. He invited CNIC to invest in Pakistan's communication infrastructure projects, especially Karachi Circular Railway.[19] Prime Minister Sharif also met with the Chairman of Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM). During the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized the government's reform agenda, focusing on governance, taxation and ease of doing business to attract foreign direct investment.[20]

On the morning of 7 June, Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks at the Great Hall of the People with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz.[21] After the talks, the two premiers witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of transportation, industry, agriculture, market regulation, people's livelihood, film and television, and capacity building.[22]

In the afternoon, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Shahbaz at the Great Hall of the People.[23][24] President Xi said China has always prioritized the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighboring diplomacy.[25][26] The two leaders also reaffirmed their consensus on upgrading the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and advancing the construction of the second phase of mega projects.[27][28][29]

On the same day, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji met with Prime Minister Shahbaz.[30][31]

Xi'an

On the evening of 7 June, Prime Minister Shabazz arrived in Shaanxi for a visit.[32][33]

On 8 June, Prime Minister Shahbaz visited the Terracotta Warriors Museum, a historical site in China,[34] accompanied by a Pakistani delegation.[35][36] On the same day, Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif met with Zhao Yide, the Secretary of Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee. During the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to promote cooperation between the two sides in trade, technology, agriculture and tourism through pragmatic inter-city cooperation, taking advantage of Xi'an's sister-city relations with Lahore and Multan.[37][33][38]

See also

Reference

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