Chinese President Xi Jinping commits to enhanced economic corridor with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and China will be collaborating on enhancing economic corridor, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Both sides pledged support as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Chinese President Xi Jinping along with cabinet members.

President Xi emphasized the importance of Pakistan ensuring the safety of Chinese personnel and projects. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key part of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, aims to improve connectivity between western China and Pakistan’s Gwadar port.

Shehbaz Sharif, in his heart warming message, hailed Belt and Road Initiative, calling it most shining project of Beijing. He mentioned that flagship projects like BRI earned China most unique positions among international community.

PM Sharif also assured safety of Chinese workers in Pakistan, expressing condolences for the loss of five Chinese engineers in a bombing in March.

Earlier in the day, PM Sharif called on Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, where they agreed to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project from detractors and adversaries.

Both sides, in their delegation-level talks, reaffirmed their support for each other on key issues and committed to the high-quality development and timely completion of all CPEC projects.

This visit, Shehbaz’s first since the February elections, is expected to inaugurate CPEC’s second phase. The annual federal budget, typically presented in early June, has been delayed to June 12 due to the trip. The leaders also emphasized the strong Pakistan-China partnership and agreed to deepen cooperation in various sectors through the signing of 23 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). Shehbaz will continue his visit to Xi’an, where he will meet with provincial leadership and business leaders to discuss agricultural and green energy sectors.