Xi’an: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, along with his delegation met Mr. Zhao Yide, Party Secretary of Shaanxi province in Xi’an, China today.
Prime Minister Sharif and Party Secretary Zhao discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including trade, technology, agricultural and cultural exchanges. They reaffirmed commitment to further deepen Pakistan-China strategic cooperation, including through promotion of B2B linkages and cultural exchanges. They agreed to strengthen local and provincial level cooperative partnerships between Pakistan and China for mutual prosperity.
Underscoring Xi’an’s historical significance as a center of cultural and economic exchanges between the East and the West in the Ancient Silk Road, the Prime Minister emphasized continued collaboration between Pakistan and Shaanxi province in people-to-people exchanges particularly in the culture, tourism and education domains. He also underlined the need to leverage sister-city relationships of Xi’an with Lahore and Multan through practical cooperation at city-to-city level.
The Prime Minister said that CPEC was growing from strength to strength with a focus on high quality development in the second phase. The two sides agreed to strengthen economic cooperation through joint ventures in agriculture, bio-pharmaceuticals, automobile manufacturing, mining, chemicals and textiles sectors.
Secretary Zhao briefed the Prime Minister on the historical significance of Shaanxi province and provided an overview of Shaanxi’s economic and social development highlighting its status as one of the fastest growing regions of China.
The Prime Minister said that China’s phenomenal development and support to the developing countries was an inspiration for Pakistan. He invited the state owned and private enterprises from Shaanxi province to benefit from the investor friendly policy framework and regulatory measures in Pakistan.
The Prime Minister thanked the leadership of the Shaanxi province and the Xi’an city for facilitating Pakistani citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic.
