Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif leaves for a five-day visit to China on Tuesday where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to “jointly draw up a blueprint” for further strengthening ties between the two countries.
The two countries are also looking to strengthen cooperation under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Cooperation Agreement.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Friday that Sharif would visit China from June 4-8 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The visit is aimed at improving cooperation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, as the two countries look forward to starting the second phase of the project.
CPEC was launched 10 years ago and many energy and infrastructure projects have already been completed.
This will be Sharif’s first visit to China since taking office as prime minister in March. In addition to Beijing, the 72-year-old is also due to visit the Chinese provinces of Shaanxi and Guangdong.
India
The Pakistani Prime Minister’s visit to Beijing comes at a time when Pakistan is facing a severe economic crisis as foreign exchange reserves continue to remain at low levels.
