ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a five-day official trip to China today, Tuesday, seeking to enhance bilateral cooperation and woo Chinese investors through wide-ranging business-to-business (B2B) engagements.
Chinese investment and financial support since 2013 have been key for the South Asian nation’s struggling economy, including the rolling over of loans so that Islamabad is able to meet external financing needs at a time its foreign reserves are critically low.
Sharif’s visit will seek to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a key part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan’s foreign office announced last week that Sharif would be visiting China from June 4 till June 8 on an invitation extended to him by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“An important aspect of the PM’s visit will be meetings with corporate executives of leading Chinese companies dealing in oil and gas, energy, ICT [information and communication technology], and emerging technologies,” Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said.
The visit comes at a time when Pakistan is looking to boost foreign investment to support its fragile economy after averting a default last year, thanks to a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
China has invested billions in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the $65 billion CPEC plan, but the implementation of various projects has slowed in recent months.
On Friday, Sharif asked Pakistani officials to carve out a “comprehensive plan” for B2B engagements during his visit to China.
“A plan should be made to encourage Chinese industries to set up plants in Pakistan,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by his office.
During his visit, Sharif will meet President Xi, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhao Leji, according to Pakistani and Chinese officials.
He will visit the Chinese cities of Xi’an and Shenzhen and Beijing as well as economic and agricultural zones in China.
During the visit, the two sides are expected to discuss further upgradation of CPEC and advancement of bilateral trade and investment as well as security of Chinese interests in Pakistan.
Last month, officials in Beijing and Islamabad held a virtual meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on CPEC.
The meeting, which focused on joint energy and infrastructure development initiatives, was convened after a March 26 suicide attack that killed five Chinese engineers and their local driver en route to the under-construction Dasu dam in northwest Pakistan.
Briefing the media about the decisions made during the meeting, Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Chinese security concerns were discussed during the talks.
“Security issues were discussed in the meeting and China was briefed on improving security,” he said, adding that Pakistani authorities had raised a special force to ensure the safety of CPEC projects.
