ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday departed for China on a two-day visit, with “revitalization of CPEC,” trade, investment and other things on the agenda.
PM Sharif is among the first batch of foreign leaders who will be visiting China since President Xi Jinping secured a precedent-breaking third term as general secretary at the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th party congress this month.
This is Sharif’s first bilateral visit to China since assuming office of the prime minister in April. He is scheduled to meet President Xi and hold delegation-level talks with Premier Li Keqiang, which would focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
CPEC, a major segment of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, is a $65 billion network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan that will connect China to the Arabian Sea and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
“My discussions with Chinese leadership will focus on revitalization of CPEC among many other things,” Sharif said on Twitter.
“[The] 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.”
The Pakistan prime minister said he was honored to be among the first few leaders to have been invited after the historic 20th National Congress of the CPC.
“At a time when the world is grappling with multiple challenges, Pakistan & China stand together as friends & partners,” he added.
The visit, however, comes days after a team of Chinese officials traveled to Pakistan to assist in the investigation of an April suicide attack that had killed three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver in the southern port city of Karachi.
“Safety and security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan remains our top priority,” PM Sharif wrote in an opinion article, published by China’s Global Times newspaper on Sunday.
“The loss of precious Chinese lives in Pakistan is our loss. We would not let anyone to damage our close friendship and strong economic partnership.”
Separatist militants have often targeted Chinese nationals in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, where Beijing is involved in CPEC projects.
But Sharif said in the article his government would spare no effort to bring the perpetrators of these “reprehensible acts” to justice.
