Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday marked the visit of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to Pakistan as the start of the “second phase” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), vowing that the neighboring nations will not “tolerate any kind of obstacle” to their friendship.
Addressing a ceremony in which Islamabad and Beijing signed six agreements for the promotion of bilateral cooperation, he thanked the Chinese president for sending a senior official to Pakistan as an indicator of people-to-people friendship between the two countries. “This gesture demonstrates the strength of our friendship,” he said.
“I have no doubt that we are entering into the second phase of CPEC. Today, we have signed some important documents which will enhance our economic cooperation, and we will undertake the second phase under a new mode,” he claimed, adding the agreements would bring in investment for agriculture and I.T. to help Pakistan export items in accordance with Chinese requirements and standards.
“CPEC was signed by then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it was implemented promptly,” he recalled, maintaining that the initiative had seen over $25 billion investment in sectors such as power, energy and public transport.
Prior to the signing of the agreements, P.M. Sharif and the Chinese vice-premier met and discussed bilateral ties, expressing satisfaction at the steady development of CPEC projects in Pakistan. Both sides expressed their commitment to working together for the realization of CPEC’s shared objectives.
Appreciating China’s support for Pakistan’s economic development, the prime minister remarked that both countries had always supported each other as strategic partners and trusted friends, recalling Beijing’s support to Pakistan in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s devastating floods.
He Lifeng, meanwhile, conveyed President Xi Jinping’s message of China’s firm support to Pakistan’s prosperity and development and underlined the “unique” nature of the Pak-China friendship that had lasted for decades due to the fraternal ties between the peoples of both nations. Welcoming the prime minister’s vision for deepening trade and investment ties with Pakistan, he also conveyed China’s willingness to enhance Pakistan’s agricultural and food exports to China.
Earlier, in a posting on X, the prime minister welcomed the Chinese vice premier and his team’s arrival in Pakistan. “They are visiting Pakistan to join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of CPEC and witnessing first-hand the transformations brought about by this game-changing initiative,” he wrote.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad on Sunday at the invitation of the Pakistani government, with his visit to conclude on Aug. 1. During his visit, it said, he would attend a ceremony, as chief guest, celebrating a decade of CPEC. It said Lifeng, as chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission from 2017-2023, had been “instrumental in the planning and execution of multiple CPEC projects in Pakistan.”
Ahead of his visit, security was tightened in Islamabad and a local holiday declared within the territory of the capital.
In progress since 2013, Islamabad has received $25.4 billion in direct Chinese investment under CPEC in various transport, energy, and infrastructure schemes that are part of President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative.