Beijing, 5 June 2024: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Beijing in the second segment of his 5-day visit to China. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong received Prime Minister Shehbaz at the airport.
The Prime Minister is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and other members of the cabinet and senior officials.
The Prime Minister has an extensive program in Beijing reflecting the depth and breadth of Pakistan-China ties. He will meet the President, the Premier, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
Moreover, He will also attend a Pakistan-China Friendship and Business event and have meetings with the CEOs of leading Chinese companies working on CPEC projects. The two countries aim to sign MoUs on cooperation in various fields.
While speaking at a joint business forum in Shenzhen, a major global technology hub, where he arrived on Tuesday for the first leg of his visit to China from June 4-8.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his administration would provide “full support” to Chinese investors entering Pakistan’s market, as the South Asian nation seeks to woo foreign investors amid efforts to stabilize its $350 billion economy.
At the top of the agenda are business-to-business meetings and efforts to seek an upgrade for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, through which Beijing has pledged over $60 billion in energy and infrastructure Pakistan since 2015.
Also Read: Prime Minister Sharif, Party Secretary Meng discuss CPEC in Shenzhen
In recent months, Pakistani authorities have said they are no longer striving to borrow money from allies but asking them to make “mutually beneficial” investments and explore the possibility of collaborating with local businesses.
Chinese investment and financial support since 2013 have been key for the South Asian nation’s struggling economy, including the rolling over of loans so that Islamabad can meet its external financing needs at a time when its foreign reserves are critically low.
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