Pakistan, China vow to deepen ‘iron-clad’ partnership during Shehbaz–Li talks in Beijing

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Thursday, where both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening what they described as the “iron-clad, all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” between the two countries.

The meeting underscored the enduring bond between Islamabad and Beijing, with both leaders expressing "satisfaction over the positive trajectory of bilateral ties".

Prime Minister Sharif thanked China’s leadership and people for their consistent support of Pakistan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and socio-economic development, according to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office.

The Pakistani premier congratulated China on successfully hosting the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit in Tianjin and extended felicitations on the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in the War of Resistance and the global Anti-Fascist War.

He also praised China’s remarkable transformation under President Xi Jinping’s leadership and expressed Pakistan’s aspiration to emulate those successes while building a stronger Pakistan-China community with a shared future.

PM Sharif noted that his government’s ongoing reform efforts were showing promising results, supported by China’s strong partnership. He further announced Pakistan’s intention to issue Panda Bonds in the Chinese capital market in the near future.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang of the People's Republic of China in Beijing on Thursday.FO

On economic cooperation, the Prime Minister underlined the central role of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - in Pakistan’s development over the past decade.

He called for the early implementation of major projects including ML-I, the Karakoram Highway realignment, and the operationalization of Gwadar Port. Both sides also agreed to advance work on the next phase, CPEC 2.0, which will feature five new corridors.

Highlighting the potential for business-to-business collaboration, Shehbaz briefed Li Qiang on the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference held earlier in the day, attended by more than 300 Pakistani and 500 Chinese companies. He identified agriculture, mining, textiles, industry, and IT as priority areas for investment and joint ventures.

Sharif also reiterated Pakistan’s support for President Xi Jinping’s initiatives to strengthen multilateralism, including the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Governance Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative. Both sides noted that next year will mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China.

Following their talks, the two leaders attended the signing ceremony for a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding covering cooperation in CPEC 2.0, science and technology, IT, media, and agriculture, among other fields.

Meeting with Chinese IT minister

Separately, Chinese Minister for Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng met PM Sharif in Beijing. The premier reaffirmed Pakistan’s vision of expanding cooperation with China in industries, agriculture, trade, ICT, and mining.

He emphasized that CPEC remains a central pillar of Pakistan’s socio-economic progress and expressed satisfaction with its steady advancement in Phase II.