Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan and China are entering a new phase of practical, people-centric and development-oriented cooperation.
He was talking to Party Secretary of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, Wang Hao, in Hangzhou today.
The Prime Minister appreciated the remarkable development achievements of Zhejiang Province and praised visionary leadership of President Xi Jinping during his tenure as Party Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, particularly the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”
He said Zhejiang’s development offered an important example of how ecological conservation, green development, and high-quality economic growth could advance in a mutually reinforcing manner.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan attached high importance to strengthening cooperation with Zhejiang Province, particularly in the fields of the digital economy, e-commerce, information technology, telecommunications, agriculture, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and skill development.
He noted that provincial cooperation constituted an important pillar of Pakistan-China relations and could play a significant role in advancing CPEC Phase-II through industrial cooperation, agricultural modernisation, technology collaboration, and export-oriented development.
The Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of two cooperation documents. The first was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a sister-province relationship between Zhejiang Province and Punjab Province.
The MoU aims to promote cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
The Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of a document of understanding between Hangzhou Normal University and the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing for the establishment of the China-Pakistan Joint Technology Research Centre at the university.
The centre will promote academic cooperation, applied research, technology exchange, and institutional linkages between Pakistan and China.
Earlier, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Hangzhou on the first leg of his four-day visit to China.
Upon arrival at Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou, the Prime Minister was received by Deputy Governor of Zhejiang, Xu Wenguang, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong and Pakistani Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi are accompanying the Prime Minister.
Earlier in the week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said only that "issues of common concern" would be discussed. Guo has said that China would work with Pakistan to "make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East".
"China supports Pakistan in playing a fair and balanced mediating role in promoting peace and ending the war," he said. Pakistan has emerged as a central mediator between the United States and Iran, hosting historic face-to-face talks last month that failed to yield a lasting agreement.
Its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was due in Tehran on Thursday, Iranian media reported. China has played a quieter role, shepherding phone calls and meetings with officials of affected Gulf countries.
After high-profile talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week, Trump told Fox News the Chinese leader had offered Beijing's help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -- a key oil route largely blocked since the war erupted.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Islamabad this month to "step up mediation efforts" in the Middle East, speaking to his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in a call.
In the past two weeks, Bejing has hosted visits from Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.