What to expect from PM Khan's China visit?

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will be visiting China from Oct 8-9 (Tuesday-Wednesday) at an invitation of his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, the Foreign Office said on Monday.

During the visit, the PM would have meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will separately host banquets in honour of the prime minister. A number of agreements/MoUs are expected to be signed at a ceremony to be witnessed by the leaders of the two countries.

Prime Minister Khan will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Khusro Bakhtiyar, the adviser on commerce, the special assistant on petroleum, and Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) and senior officials.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa will join the PM’s meetings with Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping.

The Foreign Office said the visit of the prime minister is in continuation of the long-established tradition of the leadership of the two countries meeting regularly and consulting closely on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

PM Khan will exchange views on regional developments including the state of peace and security in South Asia arising from the situation in occupied Jammu & Kashmir since 5 August 2019, it added.

The visit will be instrumental in further cementing Pakistan’s economic, investment and strategic ties with China. Among other things, the PM will apprise the Chinese leadership of the government’s recent landmark decisions to speed-up implementation of ongoing CPEC projects as well as efforts to project CPEC as a High-Quality Demonstration Project of BRI.

There will be interaction with senior representatives of the Chinese business and corporate sector for deepening bilateral trade, commercial and investment partnership. The prime minister will also be participating in the closing ceremony of the Beijing International Horticulture Expo, as a Chief Guest, where Premier Li Keqiang will be the host.