PM Shehbaz lands in China on four-day official visit

HANGZHOU: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in China on Sunday for a four-day official visit, where he was received by senior Chinese officials at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The PMO said Zhejiang province’s vice governor welcomed the premier upon his arrival in Hangzhou. Jiang Zaidong and Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi were also present at the airport to receive him.

Prime minister Shehbaz is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and the prime minister’s adviser Tariq Fatemi.

A day earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office had announced that the prime minister would undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 26.

In a statement, the Foreign office said the visit holds special importance as Pakistan and China mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. It added that the trip would provide an opportunity to reaffirm the enduring strength of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and further advance the shared vision of building a closer community with a shared future.