ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China signed two cooperation documents in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang on Saturday as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif began the first leg of his four-day visit to China aimed at deepening economic and technological cooperation between the two countries.
The understandings, signed in Hangzhou during Sharif’s meeting with Zhejiang Communist Party chief Wang Hao, included a memorandum establishing a sister-province relationship between Punjab and Zhejiang, as well as a document paving the way for a China-Pakistan Joint Technology Research Center at Hangzhou Normal University.
The visit comes as Pakistan and China mark 75 years of diplomatic relations while seeking to expand cooperation under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with increasing focus on technology, industrial cooperation, green development and digital connectivity.
“The Prime Minister said Pakistan attached high importance to strengthening cooperation with Zhejiang Province, particularly in the fields of digital economy, e-commerce, information technology, telecommunications, agriculture, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and skills development,” said a statement released by Sharif’s office.
He also praised Zhejiang’s development model and referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s environmental governance philosophy during his visit to the province.
“He said Zhejiang’s development offered an important example of how ecological conservation, green development and high-quality economic growth could advance in a mutually reinforcing manner,” the PM Office said.
The Punjab-Zhejiang agreement aims to promote cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, education, tourism, culture and people-to-people exchanges, while the joint technology research center is expected to support academic cooperation, applied research and technology transfer between institutions in both countries.
Sharif arrived in Hangzhou earlier on Saturday and said Pakistan looked forward to expanding cooperation with Zhejiang Province across multiple sectors.
“As Pakistan and China commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations, I look forward to engaging with President Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership, while reaffirming our shared commitment to further strengthening the enduring bond of friendship between our two brotherly nations,” he said in a social media post on X.
Sharif is expected to travel to Beijing later during the visit for meetings with President Xi and Premier Li Qiang, with discussions also expected to cover regional security and the ongoing US-Iran conflict, on which Beijing has backed Islamabad’s mediation efforts.
