President Zardari to embark on four-day state visit to China on Feb 4: FO

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday confirmed that President Asif Ali Zardari will embark on a four-day state visit to China, starting on February 4 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In November, the president had been unable to proceed to China on a scheduled official visit due to a foot fracture as the doctors had advised him to rest for four weeks.

According to a statement released by the FO, the state visit will be from Feb 4 to Feb 8 during which the president will hold meetings with the Chinese leadership, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and other senior leaders in Beijing.

“The discussions will encompass the full spectrum of Pakistan-China relations, with a particular focus on economic and trade cooperation; counter-terrorism and security collaboration; China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and future connectivity initiatives,” the statement read.

It added that the two sides will also “exchange views on the unfolding global and regional geopolitical landscape and bilateral cooperation at multilateral fora”.

President Zardari will also attend the inaugural ceremony of the 9th Asian Winter Games in China’s Heilongjiang province “at the special invitation of the Chinese government”.

According to FO, the state visit highlights “the tradition of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China” and it reflects the commitment of the two countries to “strengthen their All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership”.

In October, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang had arrived in Pakistan for a four-day bilateral visit, which was said to be the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years, with the last one by Li Keqiang in May 2013.

During the visit, he had met President Zardari where both sides had also emphasised the need to expedite the implementation of CPEC projects.

While President Zardari had emphasised that Pakistan’s friendship with its all-weather partner remained a cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy.

The statement today reaffirmed “mutual support on the issues of core interests, advance economic and trade cooperation”, which included CPEC, highlighting their joint commitment to regional peace, development and stability.