Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting Beijing next week to express his greetings to 69- year old Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was recently re-elected as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China for an unprecedented third five-year term.
It was reported by the foreign ministry on Wednesday that during the expected visit on 1st and 2nd November, the two sides will review the all-weather strategic cooperation partnership and exchange views on regional and global developments. PM Sharif will also be one of the first foreign leaders to visit China after the historic 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in which President Xi will continue his power after a 10-year tenure for another five-year term, reviving the legacy of the first party leader and revolutionary, Mao’s title. (Sharif)
History of events and upcoming agendas
Beijing and Islamabad share a long history of special friendship and mutual trust and this official visit is set to embark on new dimensions to their bilateral relations. While Pakistan faces numerous challenges at home in the backdrop of its military tensions and trade deficit, this joint exchange can provide some insights into the future of interests concerning both parties. Pakistan owes Paris Club or creditor’s group countries, a combined sum of around $10.7 billion, and its current Chinese debt stands at about $23 billion according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).(Sharif)
Aiming to consolidate their foreign ties, PM Sharif will lead a high-level delegation, involving official members like Bilawal Bhutto, Premier Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu the Chairman of China’s Parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC). Holding high-level delegation talks with Premier Li, the two sides will review their strategic partnership and advance a number of agreements in diverse areas.
The visit follows his meeting with President Xi in Uzbekistan on September 16 at the annual meeting of the council of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The two countries are looking forward to sign new deals including tightening up of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cooperation. Pakistan will seek a multibillion-dollar financing window from China to fund 10,000 megawatts solar-powered electricity generation projects, media reports said.
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Launched in 2013, the CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that are under construction and intended to link Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.
The $60 billion CPEC is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project which Pakistan considers tremendous for the development of its modern economy. Other points of discussion will be regarding the solar-powered electricity generation projects, energy projects and non-payments of dues by the Chinese Independent Power Plants (IPP), officials said.
While such visits might advance bilateral or tripartite agreements, other countries like the USA and India will be closely eyeing the closeness of such ventures. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had recently warned of how China could threaten India’s border at Ladakh and Kashmir in tandem with Pakistan rather than Taiwan.
Representing the continuity of frequent exchanges and describing each other as ‘all-weather friends’ and ‘iron brothers’, China and Pakistan share many social, political, economic and financial grounds on which security and stability can be sustained. India, at this stage, will have to find other alternatives to maintain a balance with these two neighboring countries.
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