President Xi keen to visit Pakistan: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while sharing details of his recent trip to China, said on Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping was “very keen” to visit Pakistan and that discussions in that regard had taken place between both sides.

“He (Xi) is very keen to come,” Qureshi told reporters. “Both sides understand that his visit will be of an extraordinary nature. For that there is a need to understand the flux in regional and international situation and also to prepare before his trip.”

The minister said that a “roadmap” was discussed and further interaction between the two countries will be seen in the coming days. The date of President Xi’s visit will be decided keeping in mind the “developments and the Covid-19 situation”, Qureshi said.

His remarks come days after President Xi, in a letter to his Pakistani counterpart President Arif Alvi, said that his country was ready to work with Pakistan to deepen the building of “China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future” and to jointly promote cooperation among regional countries.

The Chinese president further said that both Pakistan and China were working to maintain the “momentum of peace and development in the region”.

In today’s press talk, Qureshi also explained that the purpose of his recent visit was to “understand [China’s] current state of mind and gauge their stance on India”.

“I can tell you that I didn’t see any hesitation, their (China’s) stance is very clear,” he said.

The foreign minister also touched upon the relations of other regional countries with India, saying that the impression that Saarc member countries were “leaning towards India” was dissolving. He referred to India’s conflict with Nepal and the recent resolution passed by the latter’s parliament in that regard in addition to “a lack of warmth” in India’s ties with Bangladesh.