Chinese foreign minister begins strategic talks in Pakistan after India visit

China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi (left) shaking hands with Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, Pakistan, on August 21, 2025. (Government of Pakistan)
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Updated 21 August 2025
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Chinese foreign minister begins strategic talks in Pakistan after India visit

  • Wang Yi’s visit follows a brief but intense India-Pakistan military standoff in May
  • Chinese FM was received by Pakistan’s deputy PM Ishaq Dar at the foreign office

ISLAMABAD: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived at Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday to begin formal talks under the sixth round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, Pakistan’s foreign office said.

Wang landed in Islamabad on Wednesday for the two-day dialogue, days after holding talks in New Delhi with India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval over their disputed Himalayan border. He also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the visit.

Wang’s Pakistan trip comes just months after a brief but intense military standoff between India and Pakistan in May, during which Islamabad deployed Chinese-made fighter jets and missiles. India later claimed Beijing had actively supported Pakistan’s response, though officials in Islamabad said their country’s “victory” in the conflict was base on its own capabilities.

“Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the foreign office said in a statement. “Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar welcomed the distinguished guest at the main gate. The two will hold discussions on bilateral ties and matters of mutual interest.”

The statement said the two leaders will hold the sixth round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue.

The dialogue, institutionalized in 2017, provides a platform for high-level engagement on regional issues, economic cooperation and multilateral coordination.

Pakistan sees China as its top economic and diplomatic ally, with Beijing making extensive investment in power, infrastructure and telecoms under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Earlier this week, Pakistan’s foreign office described Wang’s visit as part of regular high-level exchanges aimed at reaffirming support on core issues, enhancing economic ties and advancing regional peace and stability.


Pakistan cuts key rate by 50 bps to 10.5% in surprise move after holding for four meetings

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Pakistan cuts key rate by 50 bps to 10.5% in surprise move after holding for four meetings

  • An IMF staff report last week warned against premature easing, with analysts expecting SBP to hold the policy rate
  • Inflation remains within the bank’s target band, but analysts expect price pressures to rise later in the fiscal year

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent on Monday, the bank said on its website, breaking a hold on the rate for four meetings in a move that surprised analysts and came despite IMF warnings to avoid premature easing.

All 12 analysts in a Reuters poll had expected the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to hold the policy rate at 11 percent.

Monday’s reduction takes the total easing since rates peaked at 22 percent to 1,150 basis points, after the SBP delivered 1,100 bps of cuts between June 2024 and May 2025 and then held the rate steady for four meetings before Monday’s move.

Inflation edged down to 6.1 percent in November from 6.2 percent in October, within the SBP’s 5 percent–7 percent target band, with analysts expecting it to rise again later in FY26 as base effects fade and food and transport prices stay volatile.

An IMF staff report last week warned against premature easing, calling for policy to remain data-dependent to anchor expectations and rebuild external buffers, even as Pakistan received a $1.2 billion disbursement under its loan program.