Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan concludes successful visit to Pakistan
China's Vice President Wang Qishan has concluded his highly successful visit to Pakistan today. The visit was in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since the Prime Minister's visit to China in November 2018 and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April 2019.
In addition to his call on the President, Vice President Wang Qishan held detailed talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan. Both leaders witnessed signing of a number of Agreements/MoUs and inaugurated several key projects. Besides, the President of Pakistan conferred Pakistan's highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, upon Vice President Wang Qishan.
In Lahore, the Vice President met with Chief Minister of Punjab and held a meeting with Governor Punjab who hosted a banquet in his honour.
The interactions of Vice President Wang Qishan with Pakistani leadership were marked by traditional warmth and cordiality. The visit provided the opportunity to the leadership of the two countries to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations and exchange views on important regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The two sides held in-depth discussions on Phase-II of CPEC including industrial and agricultural cooperation and socio-economic development, and on deepening practical cooperation in tourism and people-to-people exchanges. Both countries underscored their firm commitment for early completion of ongoing CPEC projects and to further expanding CPEC.
The two countries also agreed to enhance bilateral trade volume in a balanced way. In this respect, they resolved to implement the recently concluded 2nd Phase of China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) at the earliest. They further agreed that the early development of prioritized Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will play an important role in further enhancing economic relations between the two countries.
The Pakistan-China All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership is unique in modern inter-state relations, marked by exceptional trust, mutual understanding and support for each other’s core interests. China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has added a practical dimension to the relationship and further fortified it.
The Vice President’s visit has imparted a strong impetus to the further deepening of the time-tested friendship between Pakistan and China. It has reinforced the consensus reached between the leadership in their earlier interactions on the multiple dimensions of bilateral cooperation and set the tone for future trajectory of mutual engagement.
The visit has added to the vitality of the Pakistan-China bilateral partnership, which remains unaffected by adverse regional and international developments, and continues to grow from strength to strength.
Islamabad
28 May 2019