Pakistan and China on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to advancing cooperation under CPEC 2.0, the upgraded phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The new stage includes five additional corridors.
The understanding was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the progress in bilateral ties and agreed to work closely on the next phase of CPEC.
Prime Minister Shehbaz is currently in China on a six-day official visit. He first landed in Tianjin on August 30 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
During Thursday’s meeting, the two sides also attended a ceremony to exchange memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and agreements. These covered cooperation in science, technology, IT, media, agriculture, and the development of CPEC 2.0.
Delegation-level talks were followed by a grand luncheon hosted by Premier Li Qiang in honour of Prime Minister Shehbaz and his team.
The meeting was described as “warm and friendly.” Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed deep gratitude to the Chinese leadership and people for their support of Pakistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and socio-economic development.
Building on the consensus reached earlier between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shehbaz on September 2, both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to further strengthen the all-weather, iron-clad strategic partnership between the two countries.
The prime minister also congratulated China on successfully hosting the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Tianjin. He extended felicitations on the 80th anniversary of the Chinese people’s victory in the War of Resistance and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Paying tribute to China’s remarkable transformation under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, Prime Minister Shehbaz said Pakistan wanted to learn from China’s achievements and build a stronger community with a shared future. He noted that his government’s reform agenda was producing results with China’s support.
He also announced that Pakistan intends to issue Panda Bonds in the Chinese capital market soon.
On the economic front, Prime Minister Shehbaz highlighted the major role played by CPEC in Pakistan’s development over the past decade. He stressed early implementation of projects such as ML-I, the realignment of Karakoram Highway, and the full operationalisation of Gwadar Port under the second phase of CPEC.
The premier underlined the vast potential for business-to-business cooperation and investment. He briefed Premier Li about the B2B Investment Conference held earlier in the day, where over 300 Pakistani and 500 Chinese companies participated.
He identified agriculture, mining, textiles, industry, and IT as priority sectors for joint economic cooperation under the upgraded CPEC framework.
Prime Minister Shehbaz also reiterated Pakistan’s strong support for President Xi Jinping’s global initiatives. These include the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Governance Initiative, and the Global Civilisation Initiative.
