China strengthens ties with Pakistan during state visit

Global Business

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L, front) is welcomed by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upon his arrival in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 20, 2015. Xi is on a state visit to Pakistan. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)Chinese President Xi Jinping (L, front) is welcomed by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upon his arrival in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 20, 2015. Xi is on a state visit to Pakistan. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

China and Pakistan decided on Monday to lift bilateral ties to all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here for his first state visit.

The upgrade of bilateral relations came as the two countries were gearing up for an expansion of cooperation in various fields, with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor high on the agenda.

The corridor is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking southwest Pakistan’s deepwater Gwadar Port with northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Pakistan is the first stop on Xi’s first overseas tour of 2015. Eight Pakistani Air Force JF-17 Thunder fighters were dispatched to escort Xi’s plane in when it entered Pakistani airspace.

During the two-day visit, Xi will meet with Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other leaders, as well as people from various sectors, for in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and issues of shared interests.

The two sides are scheduled to hammer out a package of deals in such fields as energy, infrastructure, trade and economic cooperation.

China has become Pakistan’s largest trading partner. Official statistics show that two-way trade exceeded $16 billion last year, marking an annual growth of 12.57 percent.

Report by Xinhua.


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