President Xi Jinping has said on Wednesday that China will continue to support Pakistan in stabilising its financial situation, the country’s state media has reported.
The report also said that China and Pakistan should move forward more effectively with the construction of their economic corridor, as well as accelerate the construction of infrastructure for the Gwadar Sea Port.
The statement was also reported by Reuters after Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping which focused on increasing multilateral cooperation between both countries especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The bilateral consensus between the two leaders was reached as PM Shehbaz called on Xi at the People’s Great Hall of China.
During the meeting, the Chinese president and PM Shehbaz discussed “broad-based cooperation in economy and investment and exchanged views on regional and global developments”.
Xi said that the countries should work together to create suitable conditions for the early implementation of the Mainline-1 railway upgrading project and the Karachi Circular Railway project.
China welcomes Pakistan to expand high-quality agricultural exports to the country, and is willing to deepen cooperation in areas including the digital economy, e-commerce, photovoltaic and other new energy sources, Xi said.
China will also export technology for a 160 km/h high-speed railway train to Pakistan, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Separately, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the National Bank of Pakistan recently for the establishment of RMB clearing arrangement in Pakistan, in a bid to facilitate the use of RMB for cross-border transactions by enterprises and financial institutions in both countries.
The prime minister also met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wherein the two sides agreed to expand CPEC besides ensuring the early completion of its already initiated projects.
PM Shehbaz is on a two-day official visit with a high-level delegation at the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang. The meeting was primarily aimed at revitalising the CPEC project.
