Pakistan and China on Thursday agreed to work closely on the next phase of the upgraded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0), which includes five new corridors.
The understanding comes during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, where both leaders expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation.
PM Shehbaz is currently in China on a six-day official visit. He landed in Tianjin on August 30, where he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
During today’s meeting, the two leaders also attended the ceremony of exchanging memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and agreements signed and announced between the two countries with regard to cooperation in the development of CPEC 2.0, science and technology, IT, media, agriculture, etc.
The delegation-level talks were followed by a sumptuous luncheon, hosted by the Chinese premier in honour of the prime minister and his delegation.
During their “warm and friendly” meeting, the prime minister expressed his deepest gratitude to the Chinese leadership and nation for their unflinching support of Pakistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and socio-economic development.
Building on the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and Premier Shehbaz in their meeting on September 2, both leaders reaffirmed their shared resolve to further strengthen the iron-clad, all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China.
The premier also congratulated the Chinese leadership on the successful hosting of the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Tianjin and extended his felicitations to China on the 80th anniversary of the success of the Chinese people in the War of Resistance and World’s Anti-Fascist War.
Paying rich tribute to China’s impressive transformation under President Xi Jinping’s visionary leadership, the prime minister stated that Pakistan wanted to emulate China’s successes and build a stronger and closer Pakistan-China community with a shared future.
He added that his government’s tireless reform efforts were yielding promising results, made possible through China’s strong support.
PM Shehbaz also shared Pakistan’s intent to float Panda Bonds in the Chinese capital market soon.
On the economic front, the prime minister highlighted the significant contribution of the CPEC — a flagship project of President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in Pakistan’s socio-economic development in the past decade, and stressed the need for early implementation of ML-I, KKH realignment and operationalisation of the Gwadar Port.
Emphasising the vast potential for B2B cooperation and investment, Pakistan’s premier briefed his Chinese counterpart on the B2B Investment Conference held earlier in the day, where more than 300 Pakistani and 500 Chinese companies were in attendance
He identified agriculture, mines and minerals, textile, industrial sector and IT as priority areas for mutually beneficial economic collaboration.
The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s support for President Xi Jinping’s landmark initiatives to strengthen multilateralism, including the Global Governance Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative as well as Global Civilisation Initiative.
