Pakistani PM's visit to China reflects close relations

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif made a significant and historic visit to China following the landmark 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Regular exchanges and visits based on strategic trust and common views reflect the strength of the bond and the two nations' "iron brotherhood".

Both sides issued a comprehensive statement at the end of the visit reaffirming their resolve to make headway in the direction of togetherness on national-level cooperation and standing together on regional and international issues.

This historic visit during these challenging global and regional times has had a strong impact on long-standing bilateral ties. It is essential to mention that Prime Minister Sharif and President Xi Jinping met in September on the sidelines of the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was held in Uzbekistan. The visit two months later shows the strength of cooperation and eagerness to finalize various steps.

Both sides have reiterated their firm resolve on multiple national, regional and international issues. Both sides also consider the significance of each other in their respective foreign policy dimensions. Pakistan considers China a cornerstone of its foreign policy, while China supports Pakistan in its regional and international matters, including support for its national-level development and progress.

During this historic debut visit, the prime minister was accompanied by high-level officials, including the foreign minister and other ministers, to sign cooperation agreements and finalize major political, economic and strategic agreements. Apart from this, China's generous assistance in the recent flood disaster was phenomenal and genuinely reflected the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

Over all these years, despite changes in the government and representatives, what has remained constant is Pakistan and China's commitment to strengthen and deepen the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. This cooperation has been transformed into practical cooperation in all areas where the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has substantially contributed to strengthening ties. With the economic corridor thriving, Pakistan and China have made high-quality development and progress.

Before the visit, essential recommendations were made regarding progress and cooperation on the economic corridor, especially on the ML1 rail project, the Karachi Circular Railway, the Azad Pattan Hydropower Project, the Kohala Hydropower Project and the Thar Block Coal Project. All of these projects were discussed during the high-level meeting.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an important node in cross-regional connectivity and is currently in the second phase of cooperation and development in agriculture and industrial collaboration, apart from the socioeconomic boost it provides through community development projects. Both sides also discussed accelerating cooperation on information technology, health, digital areas and green corridors.

There has been significant progress on the economic corridor, including an agreement to launch the $10 billion ML1 rail project as well as several agreements that were signed covering bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, financial cooperation, agriculture, the digital economy, e-commerce, protection of cultural property, flood relief, animal disease control, geosciences, law enforcement and security.

It is noteworthy that Pakistan and China have consistently worked to establish lasting peace in the region. In this context, efforts to resolve the crisis in Afghanistan are but one example of cooperation between the two partners.

Furthermore, this significant bilateral visit will strengthen and advance the strategic cooperation and partnership between the two countries, with the top leadership talking about all aspects of the bilateral relations amid the changing global and regional landscape. Pakistan's primary goal is to promote bilateral investment in many sectors.

This high-level visit can also be considered a turning point in the illustrious, more than seven-decade relationship, and it increases confidence as the two countries work toward a common goal of peace and prosperity at the national, regional and global levels.

The writer is founder of Friends of BRI Forum. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.