Amidst new challenges looming over this region, Asif Ali Zardari will embark on his first bilateral official visit to Beijing from October 14 to 17 after assuming the office of President of Pakistan.
The visit will be a giant leap forward towards invigorating Pak-China comprehensive strategic partnership, opening up new horizons of co-operation in line with convergence of views and mutuality of interests.
'President Zardari's visit to China is on the invitation of Chinese President, Hu Jintao. It is his first official visit abroad,' said Foreign Office Spokesman adding that President will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing and several agreements and MoUs are expected to be inked during the visit.
Zardari would be accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, Finance Minister, Minister for Environment and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. The Spokesman said the President would also meet Chairman of National Peoples' Congress Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and Chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin.
His other engagements include interactions with heads of Chinese financial institutions and corporate sector as well as media and these interactions are aimed at enhancing commercial, industrial, banking and financial sector co-operation.
Both sides are eagerly looking forward and impulsively vying for important interaction, to be held between the top political leadership of the two countries, enabling Islamabad and Beijing to scale new heights of warmth in people to people entente and depth in their bilateral relations.
Four-day first official trip of President Zardari to China will lend further resilience and vibrancy to the existing time-tested and all-weathered ties, enjoyed by both the sides.
All is set with regard to important meetings, interactions and engagements, to be held during President's sojourn to China in the backdrop of multi-dimensional relations, based on mutuality of interests and commonality of views, official sources said.
Having nonpareil level of cordiality in the bilateral ties, the top leadership of the two countries will hold wide-ranging discourse on areas of diverse significance, with an objective to strengthen the relations to withstand the contemporary and future challenges.
The trust-bound and unshakeable Pak-China friendship is billed as an important guarantee to the peace and stability in the region further burnishing the hopes for better future. Architect of the Pak-China ties, late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto rendered pioneering contribution in fostering bilateral relations, while late Benazir
Bhutto carried forward by nurturing and maturing them into comprehensive strategic partnership besides ensuring an enviable level of endurance and durability in the relations.
China has always extended unequivocal support to Pakistan in difficult circumstances testifying the depth and strength of the multi-faceted friendship. While Pakistan lends optimal support to China on the issues of Tibet and Taiwan.
The Pak-China strategic partnership will get bolstered with first official visit of President Zardari to Beijing expressed analysts. Earlier, China said that it attaches great importance and looking forward to accord warm welcome to President Asif Ali Zardari on his upcoming visit to Beijing.
Making special announcement of Zardari's October 14-17 official visit to China at a weekly news briefing in Chinese capital, the spokesman Qin Gang said that it would be Zardari's first ever official visit to any country after assuming the office of President of Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Ambassador to China Masood Khan told Chinese media that Zardari's upcoming visit will help further invigorate the Sino-Pak relations in all dimensions.
Ambassador also said that the first objective of President Zardari's visit is not only to maintain the present strong strategic partnership, but also to carry forward these bonds to new heights.
He told the media that in 2002, the bilateral trade was around US $2 billion, which has risen to over $7 billion now, however, the leadership of both the countries is committed to take this figure to $15 billion by 2010. 'To achieve this goal, we have to mobilise not only the government machinery but also encourage the corporate sector of the two sides to come forward,' he noted.
Furthermore, China had been one of the main contributors toward the economic uplift of Pakistan. In recent past, he said, China has greatly invested in all sectors of Pakistan including construction of Gwadar Port, heavy engineering complex, power generation, mining, and telecommunication and the new government is committed to further propel this co-operation.
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