Imran arrives in China on third official visit

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on his third official visit to China where he is slated to discuss issues of regional and bilateral importance with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart Li Keqiang.

Upon his arrival in Beijing, Khan was received by Chinese Minister of Culture and Tourism Luo Shugang, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Naghmana Hashmi and other officials, The News International reported.

Khan is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Khusro Bakhtiar,  Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Zubair Gilani and other senior officials.

Xi and Li will separately host banquets in honour of the Pakistani Prime Minister.

A number of agreements and MoUs are expected to be signed at a ceremony to be witnessed by the two Prime Ministers.

Khan would discuss expansion of projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and cooperation in the agriculture, industrial and socio-economic sectors.

Last week, he said that the removal of all bottlenecks in CPEC projects and their timely completion was the top priority of the government.

It was learnt that the two sides will also discuss the "immediate implementation" of the second phase of the China-Pakistan free trade agreement (FTA).

Khan was also expected to address the China Pakistan Business Forum in Beijing and to meet Chinese entrepreneurs as well as the heads of different companies.

The Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who had reached China a few hours before the premier, will join Khan during his meetings with Premier Li and President Xi, The News International reported.

The Army chief is scheduled to meet the Chinese military leadership including the Peoples Liberation Army commander, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and commander Southern Theater Command.

This is Khan's third visit to China since he came to power in August 2018.

In April, he visited Beijing to attend the second Belt and Road Forum and for talks with the Chinese leadership on the expanded CPEC.

His first official visit was in November 2018.