Shehbaz Sharif’s China Visit -New Era of CPEC, Bilateral Relations

 Qaisar Nawab

On First Nov 2022 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived at the Beijing airport for his official two-day visit to China, where he was warmly welcomed and embraced by prominent Chinese government officials. Since assuming power in April, following Imran Khan’s ouster by a vote of no confidence, this is Sharif’s first trip to China.

The invitation of the State Council’s Premier Li Keqiang to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, less than a week into Xi Jinping’s presidency, is indicative of the strong strategic relationship between China and Pakistan. The mutual trust and friendship between the two countries are clearly exemplified by the fact that Shehbaz Sharif is one of the very first international figures to travel to China after the historic “20th National Congress of the Communist Party (CPC) of China” elected Xi Jinping as general secretary of the party.

Ahead of his departure, the PM tweeted: “Leaving for Beijing today. Honored to be among the first few leaders to have been invited after the historic 20th National Congress of the CPC. At a time when the world is grappling with multiple challenges, Pakistan & China stand together as friends & partners.”

The premier also stated that the “revitalization of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)” will be the main focus of his discussions with his Chinese counterparts. The CPEC was originally envisioned as an economic corridor of $ 46 billion that will connect China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region with the southern Pakistani port city of Gwadar.

He also said that a new age of socio-economic prosperity in Pakistan will be ushered by the second phase of CPEC. Further added that Pakistan has much to learn from the “Chinese economic miracle.”

While continuing his tweet, he said; “My discussions with Chinese leadership will focus on the revitalization of CPEC among many other things. 2nd phase of CPEC promises to usher in a new era of socio-economic progress that will uplift the quality of our people’s lives. There is a lot to learn from the Chinese economic miracle.”

During his visit, Sharif met with President Xi, Premier Li, and the president of the Chinese legislature, Li Zhanshu. The leaders  discussed regional and global trends as well as evaluated the all-weather strategic cooperation partnership”. An “in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest also took place.

Earlier, while speaking during the inaugural meeting of the steering committee of “Pakistan-China Business and Investment Forum” (PCBIF), Prime Minister Shehbaz termed CPEC a “game-changer” that aided Pakistan in overcoming its massive power outages through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) program.

While making a statement regarding the Pm visit to China, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, said that this trip to China will be “extremely important” and “it will set a new milestone for the CPEC”. She also mentioned that it will mark the beginning of “a new CPEC era”.

In the statement made by the Foreign Office, it said; “The visit is also expected to advance the broad bilateral cooperation agenda with the conclusion of a number of MoUs/Agreements in diverse areas, and to consolidate the momentum of CPEC cooperation in the wake of the eleventh meeting of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on October 27, 2022.”

During his visit, the premier  strengthened economic and investment ties with the neighboring nation by maximizing the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement. He also meet with Chinese investors and Pakistani entrepreneurs.

In an op-ed, published in the Chinese newspaper Global Times, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) upcoming phase would concentrate on important industries like agriculture, energy, production, ICT,  road and rail networks and the development of Gwadar port as a hub for trade and transshipment, investment, and regional connectivity.

He also added that our overarching objective is to exploit the potential of CPEC for Pakistan’s socio economic development, its inclusive and sustainable growth, and the betterment of the livelihood of our people.

PM Shehbaz Shareef’s visit to China will advance the comprehensive bilateral cooperation agenda between the two nations, resulting in the signing of multiple agreements in diverse fields. The landmark of cooperation between China and Pakistan, the CPEC, will also continue to unleash new and important developments and all the procedural and administrative hurdles hindering the projects will be removed.

The two countries will take this visit as an opportunity to further enhance their “all-weather strategic cooperation”, develop an even stronger community with a common future and contribute more to regional peace, stability, and global fairness and justice. Thus, setting the foundation for the beginning of the new era of CPEC.