Pakistan, China to strengthen ties with new 2025-2029 plan

Pakistan and China have signed the Joint Action Plan for 2025–2029 to further strengthen bilateral ties and progress the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives.

The roadmap was finalized during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing. The plan outlines wide-ranging collaboration across political, economic, security, and cultural domains, reaffirming the enduring friendship between the two countries.

Economic, Trade, and Financial Cooperation

Under the two neighbors have agreed to continue consultations to promote trade liberalization under Phase-II of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement.

In addition, Islamabad and Beijing will explore bilateral concession arrangements based on mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, expand Pakistan’s export potential, particularly exports to the Chinese market, and strengthen bilateral financial cooperation, including enhanced support for Pakistan on regional and international financial platforms.

The statement said China also reaffirmed its commitment to providing financial assistance to Pakistan within its capacity.

Security and Defense Cooperation

Both countries have pledged to expand bilateral and multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation. They agreed to enhance collaboration in the judiciary and law enforcement, aligned with the principles of the Global Security Initiative, besides sustaining high-level military-to-military exchanges, including joint training, exercises, and cooperation in military technology.

The two sides expressed satisfaction over the longstanding mutual trust and coordination between their armed forces.

Belt and Road & CPEC Synergy

Islamabad and Beijing reiterated their strong commitment to advancing practical cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The two countries agreed to deepen alignment between CPEC and Pakistan’s 5Es Framework — Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment & Climate Change, Energy & Infrastructure, Equity, Ethics & Empowerment.

Both sides agreed to pursue both landmark infrastructure projects and the ‘small and beautiful’ livelihood initiatives, promote high-quality development and enhanced security of CPEC projects, advance the Karakoram Highway Phase-II (Thakot-Raikot) realignment project, with phased implementation and discussions on financing, and hold regular meetings of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) and working groups to ensure effective coordination.

Political Coordination

In the political realm, both nations will deepen strategic communication and mutual support on key international and regional issues.

China will host the Second China-Pakistan Political Parties Forum and the CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism in 2026.

People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges

China and Pakistan will expand cooperation in education, youth exchange, media, culture, sports, and environmental protection. in addition, both sides will promote mutual participation in cultural and tourism expos and activities under the BRI International Green Development Coalition and sign new MoUs between the ministries of education from 2025 to 2029.

Multilateral Cooperation

The two countries will coordinate closely on multilateral platforms to uphold regional peace, development, and multilateralism, according to the statement.

Pakistan and China have pledged to support each other’s leadership roles in international organizations, including Pakistan’s upcoming presidency of the SCO and its term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2025–2026), recognize and support Pakistan’s initiatives for the peaceful resolution of disputes and global cooperation during its UNSC presidency in July 2025.

Science, Technology & Human Resource Development

Pakistan and China will deepen cooperation in science and technology, space exploration, and human resource development. Both sides will start joint initiatives for industrial capacity building, agricultural modernization, and cybersecurity. Importantly, China will offer 3,000 study and training opportunities to Pakistan from 2025 to 2029 and also enhance cooperation on environmental protection, including tackling air pollution, water resource management, and climate change resilience.