The purpose of President’s visit to China is to ensure solidarity amid Coronavirus outbreak

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says main purpose of our visit to China is to express solidarity with the people and Chinese leadership in wake of coronavirus pandemic.

Talking to media in Beijing today, he said the world has lauded the China’s efforts to fight the Corona virus with determination.

He said China is a long-time friend of Pakistan and this visit will provide an opportunity to discuss a range of issues including bilateral relations, regional situation, Afghan peace process and situation in occupied Kashmir.

The Minister said meetings with Chinese President and the Prime Minister will be held and MoUs will be signed on cooperation in the fields of agriculture and science and technology.

He also thanked the Chinese leadership for taking care and supporting the Pakistani students.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan not only expressed solidarity with the Chinese leadership but also assured all possible support in this difficult time. He thanked China for providing Pakistan pesticides and agricultural tools to overcome locust. Talking about peace process in Afghanistan, he said now it is the responsibility of Afghan leadership to ensure the conditions of the peace agreement.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says China and Pakistan are committed to advance construction of the flagship project CPEC of Belt and Road Initiative.

In an Interview with APP, he said the impact of coronavirus would be very limited and expressed the confidence that all the projects being completed under CPEC would be completed on time.

About peace agreement between the United States and Afghan Taliban, he said Pakistan has always been supporting the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The foreign minister said Pakistan has been advocating that Afghan issue could only be resolved through talks and the lasting settlement of this issue could be achieved through political negotiations.

He said now it is the responsibility of Afghan government to play its role in creating a conducive atmosphere and implementing the agreement in letter and spirit.

About President Dr Arif Alvi’s present visit to China, he said it would further cement the historic bonds of trust and mutual support between the two all-weather friends and iron brothers.

Pakistan will sign Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with China for the establishment of two new joint working groups for agriculture and science & technology under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC).

The signing will take place during President Arif Alvi’s visit to China tomorrow (Tuesday), informed Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, in a series of tweets on Monday. “This is part of the broadening of CPEC from the first phase which was mainly infrastructure to a much broader economic partnership,” said Umar in a tweet.

The Federal Minister added that the MoU states that the governments of China and Pakistan believe that CPEC has “entered a new stage of enrichment & expansion with increasing cooperation areas, expanding cooperation scale and growing cooperation projects.”
Asad Umar will leave for China today alongside President Dr. Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister on a two-day official visit on the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

During the visit, the President will meet with Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders. A number of MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit.

This will be President Alvi’s first visit to China, which is aimed at conveying strong support and solidarity of Pakistan to the government and people of China while Beijing is resolutely engaged in efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.