ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will leave on Saturday for a six-day visit to China, from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4, to attend a regional summit and hold meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, with political, economic and investment ties topping the agenda, the foreign ministry said Friday.

The visit underscores the strong and multifaceted partnership between the two countries, which spans defense, diplomacy and economic cooperation.

China has long been Pakistan’s largest investor and its closest strategic ally, anchored by the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Both sides are working to advance into “CPEC 2.0,” focused on industrialization, agriculture, energy and connectivity.

“In China, the Prime Minister would hold meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang during which multifaceted dimensions of Pakistan-China bilateral cooperation would be discussed,” the foreign office said.

“He would also attend the military parade with President Xi and other world leaders being held in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the World’s Anti-Fascist War,” it added, using a term widely employed in China to describe World War II.

The statement said Sharif would also interact with Chinese business leaders and corporate executives to discuss trade and investment and address a Pakistan-China Business-to-Business (B2B) Investment Conference in Beijing.

Sharif’s engagements are part of leadership-level exchanges that both governments describe as vital to maintaining their “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.”

The foreign office said the visit will reaffirm support on core interests, strengthen bilateral cooperation and ensure regular consultations on regional and global developments.

The prime minister will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State Summit in Tianjin during the trip, alongside other regional leaders.

Sharif also visited China in June 2024, when he held talks with Xi and Li in Beijing, toured cultural and educational sites in Xi’an, and announced that 1,000 Pakistani students would receive agricultural training in China.

That five-day trip included meetings with leading Chinese companies in the energy and technology sectors, as the government strives to encourage foreign investors to explore manufacturing and other opportunities in Pakistan.