Pakistan and China to hold strategic dialogue next week

Pakistan and China will hold a strategic dialogue next week, an annual occurrence where both countries discuss and review the whole gamut of their bilateral ties besides regional and international issues of mutual concern, according to a foreign office statement.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will visit Beijing from 13-16 May for this purpose, according to the statement issued here on Saturday by the foreign office.

Dar will co-chair the Fifth Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with the Chinese Foreign Minister and Director of the General Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi.

The two sides will comprehensively review Pakistan-China bilateral relations including economic and trade cooperation; high-level exchanges and visits; upgradation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and future connectivity initiatives, the statement said.

It added the two leaders will also exchange views on the unfolding regional geopolitical landscape and bilateral cooperation at the multilateral fora.

On the sidelines of the Strategic Dialogue, Dar is expected to meet Chinese leaders, senior ministers and leading corporate executives.

The deputy prime minister’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China.

“It reflects the importance attached by the two countries to further deepening the ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’; reaffirming mutual support on issues of core interest; enhancing economic and trade cooperation including CPEC; and reinforcing joint commitment to regional peace and development,” said the foreign office statement.

The two countries will also hold a meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of CPEC in Beijing to review progress.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also expected to travel to Beijing in the first week of June. This will be his first visit to China since he returned to the Prime Minister Office after the February 8 elections.

Pakistan considers ties with China vital for its interests. Despite pressure from certain Western countries to review its ties with China, Islamabad continues to give high priority to its ties with Beijing.

China has stood with Pakistan on crucial junctures. Beijing’s timely rollover of loans last year prevented a potential default. At the same time, China, being a permanent member of the UNSC, has always supported Pakistan’s core interests at the international forum.

However, of late China has been increasingly concerned over the security of its nationals working on different projects in Pakistan. The March 26 terrorist attack in Besham killed five Chinese engineers in the latest attack targeting Chinese nationals.

Pakistan assured foolproof security and promised to bring to justice all those who were behind the incident. Investigations into the Besham attack revealed that the suicide bomber was an Afghan national and the network that was behind the incident is linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).