Shehbaz backs Xi's global initiatives, partnership

The prime minister extended felicitations to President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people on the occasion and said that the celebration of China's Founding Day was always close to the hearts of Pakistani people. He said China's historic transformation and its growing contribution to global peace, stability and development continued to inspire countries around the world, particularly Pakistan.

He also expressed Pakistan's full endorsement of President Xi Jinping's Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and Global Governance Initiative, describing them as foundational pillars of a shared future for mankind.

The prime minister said the Pakistan-China relationship had grown over seven-and-a-half decades into a special bond based on mutual trust, mutual support and close ties between the two peoples. "Pakistan takes immense pride in our All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with China," he said, adding that the countries' "iron-clad friendship" had stood the test of time.

He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a powerful expression of the enduring friendship and shared commitment to a more prosperous future for the two countries.

The prime minister said Pakistan and China were now transitioning towards the next phase, CPEC 2.0, with enhanced focus on industrialization, special economic zones, information technology and artificial intelligence, agriculture, and mines and minerals.

He particularly highlighted progress in agricultural cooperation, saying the first group of 1,000 Pakistani agriculture graduates had completed their training in China, while another 1,000 were ready to follow. He described the initiative as a valuable investment in the skills and future of Pakistani youth.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said Pakistan-China relations were the "anchor" of Pakistan's foreign policy and had been nurtured by successive generations of leaders. Recalling his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May, he said their warm and productive discussions had reaffirmed the enduring friendship between the two countries.

He said Pakistan remained fully committed to implementing the important consensus reached between the leadership of the two countries for the mutual benefit of their peoples. He reiterated Pakistan's resolve to continue moving forward hand-in-hand with China towards building an ever-closer Pakistan-China Community with a Shared Future in the New Era.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong described China and Pakistan as "all-weather strategic cooperative partners and ironclad brothers" and welcomed the growing resilience and vitality of Pakistan's economy under Prime Minister Shehbaz's leadership.

He said this year marked the 75th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations, adding that the journey of the past 75 years had demonstrated that the two countries were friends who had been supporting each other through thick and thin.

The ambassador also highlighted the expansion of practical economic cooperation, saying bilateral trade reached $16.44 billion from January to July, up 13.4 per cent year-on-year.

He said bilateral agricultural trade stood at around $830 million during January-August, an increase of 45 per cent year-on-year, while China continued to rank first in terms of investment in Pakistan, accounting for 60.7 per cent of total foreign investment attracted by Pakistan, including Hong Kong.

Ambassador Jiang said China was ready to work with Pakistan to further deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly in industry, agriculture and mining, and to advance the high-quality development of CPEC 2.0 and an upgraded version of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement.

He also outlined plans for cooperation in livelihood projects, including the construction of 100 clean water stations, upgrading of 1,000 smart classrooms and distribution of 100,000 school kits in Balochistan. He said China would further strengthen cooperation with Pakistan in health, education, climate change and other fields, alongside expanded exchanges among universities, think tanks, youth and women.

The ambassador further said China would deepen defence, security and counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan, while maintaining close international coordination and jointly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Global South countries.