Chinese Foreign Minister arriving in Pakistan for an important 3 day visit
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ISLAMABAD – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will reach Pakistan tomorrow (Friday) to hold talks with the country’s new leadership to consolidate cooperation and elevate the all-weather bilateral strategic partnership.
This is the first high-level visit by a Chinese official to Islamabad since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections.
The three-day visit by Wang, who is also designated as the State Councillor which makes him the top diplomat of China, comes two days after that of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo met new PM Imran, COAS Qamar Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and others. Safeguarding Pakistan’s national interests will remain a supreme priority, the foreign office said in a statement after the meeting.
Announcing Wang’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media that besides holding talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he would also meet top leaders of the new Pakistan government and exchange views on bilateral ties, regional and international issues of mutual interest.
“This is the first high-level visit between the two sides after the establishment of the new government in Pakistan. We hope that through the visit the two sides could consolidate our traditional friendship, all-round cooperation and elevate China-Pakistan all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership,” she said when asked about China’s expectations from the visit from September 7-9.
“China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and cooperative partners. We are good neighbours, good friends and good brothers. Our bilateral ties have been developing with sound momentum. We have frequent high-level exchanges, practical cooperation moving forward and rich outcomes from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” she said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Pakistan’s newly-elected President Arif Alvi, saying the strategic significance of the bilateral ties is “more prominent under the current circumstances” and both sides should support each other “more staunchly”.
