ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China on November 1 at the head of a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to hold bilateral talks with the Chinese leadership.
The prime minister is undertaking the visit at the invitation of Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, the foreign ministry said here.
This would be the prime minister’s first visit to China since assuming office in April 2022 and follows his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.
The prime minister will be among the first leaders to visit China following the historic 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The prime minister’s visit represents the continuity of frequent leadership level exchanges between Pakistan and China.
The PM will meet with President Xi Jinping and hold delegation level talks with Premier Li Keqiang. The two sides will review the All-Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership and exchange views on regional and global developments.
The visit is also expected to advance the wide ranging bilateral cooperation agenda with the conclusion of a number of Memorandums of Understanding and Agreements in diverse areas, and consolidate the momentum of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cooperation in the wake of the 11th meeting of the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) today.
Pakistan owes China $23 billion in bilateral debt, of which it will request for the rollover of SAFE deposits and commercial loans totalling $6.3 billion.
Pakistan has already obtained $2.2 billion in loans during the July-September quarter while Saudi Arabia has announced to roll over $3 billion debt maturing in December this year. The country still needs to arrange $29 billion and it is looking for a minimum of $6.3 billion to $7.2 billion rollover from China in addition to any fresh lending