Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said Beijing will push to deepen its strategic partnership with Pakistan after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent official visit to China, where leaders agreed an action plan to strengthen political trust, economic ties, security cooperation and popular exchanges. Meetings between the two sides produced a roadmap for closer cooperation and highlighted a range of economic and infrastructure milestones that China says will underpin the partnership going forward.
The prime minister attended high-level multilateral and commemorative events in China and held one-on-one talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Those meetings covered bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues, and concluded with the release of an Action Plan to Foster an Even Closer China-Pakistan Community with a Shared Future in the New Era, covering the coming five-year period.
Ambassador Jiang described the Action Plan as a “general guideline, roadmap and construction plan” for advancing all-weather strategic cooperation between the two countries. He said the plan aims to build an even closer China-Pakistan community characterized by stronger political mutual trust, closer economic and trade ties, deeper security cooperation and a firmer popular foundation.
High-level political trust remains central to the relationship, Jiang emphasized, citing President Xi’s description of the ties as a resilient, brotherly and trustworthy friendship forged over time. He also quoted Prime Minister Shehbaz as saying the China-Pakistan friendship is deeply rooted among Pakistan’s people and cannot be shaken.
Jiang noted that frequent senior-level exchanges over the past year have helped the two sides reach key understandings on strengthening strategic cooperation. He pointed to economic cooperation as a priority, saying China supports Pakistan’s focus on development and stands ready to work on initiatives such as a second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and an upgrade of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement.
The ambassador highlighted several concrete milestones that China regards as evidence of deepening ties, including the launch of the new international airport in Gwadar, the start-up of a China-donated seawater desalination plant, production activity at the Rashakai Special Economic Zone, and the launch of Pakistan’s PRSS-1 satellite from China. He also said Pakistani exports such as beef, seafood and fruit are gaining traction in Chinese markets.
