Chinese VP concludes ‘highly successful’ visit

Vice President Wang launches four mega projects, and signs five accords

ISLAMABAD: China's Vice President Wang Qishan concluded his three-day "highly successful" visit to Pakistan on Tuesday, setting a tone for future trajectory of mutual engagement between the two countries, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The visit of Vice President Wang from May 26 to 28 encompassed his meetings with the Pakistani leadership, launching of four mega projects, signing of five accords and reviewing progress on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

"The vice president's highly successful visit has imparted a strong impetus to further deepening of the time-tested friendship between Pakistan and China," the Foreign Office statement said. "The visit has added to the vitality of the Pakistan-China bilateral partnership.”

The statement emphasised that the Pakistan-China relations remained unaffected by adverse regional and international developments, and continues to grow from strength to strength.

CPEC not a ‘debt-trap’ but a boon for Pakistan

Vice President Wang’s visit acquired "an increased momentum" since the Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China in November 2018 and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April 2019.

During the visit, the two sides held in-depth discussions on Phase-II of CPEC, including industrial and agricultural cooperation and socio-economic development, and on deepening practical cooperation in tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

“Both countries underscored their firm commitment for early completion of ongoing CPEC projects and to further expanding CPEC,” it said. “The two countries also agreed to enhance bilateral trade volume in a balanced way.”

In this respect, the statement continued, “they resolved to implement the recently concluded 2nd Phase of China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) at the earliest”. “They agreed that the early development of prioritised special economic zones (SEZs) will play an important role in further enhancing economic relations between the two countries,” it read.

"China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has added a practical dimension to the relationship and further fortified it," the statement said.

In Lahore, the Chinese Vice President met the chief minister of Punjab and held a meeting with Punjab Governor who hosted a banquet in his honour. In recognition of his services for strengthening bilateral relations with Pakistan, President Dr Arif Alvi conferred on Vice President Wang Qishan the country's highest civil award 'Nishan-e-Pakistan'.