Pakistan PM meets Chinese President in Beijing, both review bilateral cooperation

The Pakistan Embassy in China said this was the first meeting of the two leaders since Imran Khan's visit to the country in October 2019. 

During his meeting with Xi, Imran Khan underscored that China was Pakistan's "steadfast partner and Iron Brother." "The two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of Pakistan-China bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, in a warm and cordial atmosphere," Pakistan Embassy said in a tweet.

Imran Khan praised China's continued support and assistance to Pakistan's socio-economic development which he said had benefited from the high-quality development of CPEC. He also welcomed increased Chinese investments in CPEC's Phase-II which centred on industrialization and improving people's livelihoods. 

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who accompanied Imran Khan on his visit to Beijing, separately met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. 

Qureshi thanked the Chinese FM for the country's support for Pakistan's national development and reaffirmed his country's support to China on all issues of its core interest. 

During his 4-day Beijing visit, Imran Khan attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics and met the Chinese leadership for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 

On Friday, Pakistan and China inked the Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation under Beijing's multi-billion CPEC project in Pakistan. 

Media reports said the visit was largely aimed to seek financial relief from the communist regime on Belt and Road debts but rising security concerns could kill many key projects. 

The CPEC authority last week during a meeting with Khan cautioned that Chinese Independent Power Producers (IPPs) may soon suspend their operations under Power Purchase Agreements due to the rising prices of coal in international markets