Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to visit China next week to further boost bilateral ties

Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to visit China to boost CPEC cooperation, with plans for new road project.

“Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a five-day visit to China on June 4 to further strengthen bilateral ties,” the Foreign Office announced on May 31, as the all-weather allies seek to upgrade cooperation under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“Sharif will be in China from June 4 to 8 on the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly briefing.

China refuses to further expand cooperation with Pak in energy, water, climate under CPEC

The visit aims to increase cooperation under the CPEC project, as the two sides look forward to launching the second phase of the project. The CPEC was launched a decade ago and several projects related to energy and infrastructure had been already completed.

The Prime Minister chaired a meeting in Islamabad on Friday on his upcoming China visit directed to prepare an action plan to encourage Chinese companies to set up industries in Pakistan, assuring that Pakistan will provide all possible facilities to Chinese industrialists and investors.

Radio Pakistan reported that a detailed briefing was given to the Prime Minister on the preparations for his visit to China, during which a delegation of industrialists, investors and entrepreneurs from Pakistan will also accompany him during his visit to Chinese city Shenzhen.

The delegation will meet the Chinese business community and discuss the promotion of business-to-business relations between the two countries.