Prime Minister Imran Khan and his delegation have returned to Islamabad after four days in China where they met with various Chinese officials, including President Xi Jingping, to discuss matters of shared interest between Pakistan and China.
For the first time since before the pandemic, the prime minister met with Chinese President Xi. The prime minister touted the various socio-economic benefits of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and encouraged increased Chinese investments to the country, focusing on ‘industrialisation and improving people’s livelihoods.’
The prime minister further said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) along with other Chinese Global Development Initiatives could help mitigate the impacts of climate change and growing socio-economic inequality through sustainable development and ‘win-win outcomes.’
He also thanked China for its continued support on the Kashmir issue and stressed that the partnership between Pakistan and China was one of the stabilizing blocks in a region plagued with instability and strife.
“Rapid militarisation of India was undermining regional stability,” PM Imran Khan said.
According to a government press release, the two leaders also discussed aid to Afghanistan, the Covid-19 vaccine, and industrial and space cooperation.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also met with his counterpart State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. In a statement, the foreign minister said the two discussed the successful completion of CPEC, as well as continued coordination on regional stability and development.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, who accompanied PM Imran Khan, termed the trip ‘successful.’ The delegation met with top Chinese leadership, as well as members of the business community, to sign several memoranda of understandings (MoUs). As a capstone to the trip, the delegation attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
We did not hear anything about aid being provided by the Chinese to the Afghan Taliban? Could someone from the PTI government please let the awaam know how much money has been promised as aid by the Chinese for the Afghans, upon direct mediation and pleadings of the Pakistan PM?