China | Pakistan

Massive box office Pakistani action-thriller to be released in cinemas across China on May 21

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing on Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart and his “long-time good friend” Xi Jinping, intending to show their ties are unshakeable days after a visit by Donald Trump. The confirmation of Putin’s trip came just hours after Trump wrapped up his visit on Friday, the first by a US president to China in nearly a decade and one aimed at stabilising their turbulent relations. Putin and Xi are set to discuss how to “further strengthen” Russia and China’s strategic partnership and “exchange views on key international and regional issues”, according to a Kremlin statement. Their ties have deepened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Putin visiting Beijing every year since. Setting warm tones for the visit, the two leaders exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday to mark 30 years of their countries’ strategic partnership. Xi said cooperation between Russia and China had “continuously deepened and solidified”, according to Chinese state media. A...

President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing this week may have produced modest results by the standards of US-China summits but it highlighted a clear benefit for China: after the extremes of last year’s trade war, the countries have reverted to their familiar economic and strategic standoff. Two days of talks between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping underscored that even after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and the ensuing trade detente the two sides reached late last year, Washington and Beijing are still locked in the contest that Trump inherited when he started his second term. For the United States, that means that the most troubling aspects of the relationship — from what it considers Beijing’s mercantilist trade policies to its efforts to increase its military clout in the Indo-Pacific — remain largely unaddressed. But for Xi it offers some breathing room and a return to a more predictable set of challenges. He appeared to describe the change this week with a new framework for the countries’ relatio...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China on May 19 for a two-day visit, hot on the heels of United States President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, the Kremlin said on Saturday. During the trip, the Russian leader will discuss with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping how to “further strengthen the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Beijing, according to a Kremlin statement. Putin and Xi will “exchange views on key international and regional issues” and sign a joint declaration at the conclusion of their talks, it added. As part of the visit, Putin is also scheduled to discuss economic and trade cooperation with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The announcement of Putin’s trip comes just after Trump wrapped up on Friday the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade, with the grand reception belying a roster of unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions, including over the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Although Trump and Xi discussed the more than four-year-l...

US President Donald Trump’s summit with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing this week was the latest in decades of high-level diplomatic encounters between the two countries marked by drama, tension and surprising breakthroughs. Here are some of the most notable visits by US presidents to China: Cold War summit The US cut ties with China when the Communist Party (CCP) took over the country in 1949. Over two decades later, in February 1972, then-US president Richard Nixon flew to China to break the ice. Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong as well as premier Zhou Enlai, with whom he famously raised glasses of the fiery Chinese spirit baijiu. At a banquet in the Great Hall of the People, Nixon declared “there is no reason for us to be enemies”. A secret visit by national security adviser Henry Kissinger the year before laid the groundwork for the presidential trip, alongside reciprocal visits of table tennis teams termed “ping-pong diplomacy”. Nixon’s visit kicked off formal contacts that led to full diplomatic ...

United States President Donald Trump on Friday concluded his visit China, where he said he made “fantastic trade deals” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking to seal deals in sectors including agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence, as well as to contain differences between the two sides in a number of tense geostrategic areas — not least the Middle East war. Trump’s overtures to Xi, whom he described as a “great leader” and “friend”, have so far been met with more muted tones by the Chinese leader. But the US leader said “a lot of good” has come out of the visit. “We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” he said, as Xi accompanied him through the gardens of Zhongnanhai, a central leadership compound next to Beijing’s Forbidden City. “We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve,” Trump added, without providing details. Xi said it was a “milestone visit”, and that the two sides had to date est...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has successfully completed its inaugural Panda Bond issuance today in China’s onshore capital market - marking the country’s first-ever entry into the world’s second-largest and deepest capital market.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to undertake a three-day visit to China, starting May 23, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday. DPM Dar made the announcement while addressing the launch ceremony of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Centre in Islamabad. He said that the premier would undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 26. Dar added that premier was also set to attend a B2B forum on May 24 during the visit. Earlier this month, President Asif Ali Zardari completed a five-day visit to China, which was aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation across key economic sectors. He also oversaw the signing of multiple memoranda of understanding (MoUs). Pakistan and China share a longstanding strategic partnership with ties that span various sectors, including trade, energy, defence, and infrastructure. The two countries are also set to mark the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on May 21. The visit comes at a time when Pakistan has remained engaged in f...

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 25, in what is being seen as a significant diplomatic engagement aimed at further strengthening the longstanding strategic partnership between Islamabad and Beijing.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit China from May 23 to 25 for talks aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation in key sectors, sources said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who briefed him on his recent visit to China and consultations held there on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a “greater role” in ending hostilities in the Middle East during talks with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, a week before US President Donald Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping. China is a key customer for Iranian oil, defying sanctions imposed by the United States, and is directly affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, bordered by Iran. Beijing has quietly engaged in efforts to resolve the weekslong crisis and its diplomacy is credited with playing an important role in the fragile ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran. China “will work harder to ease tensions and end the fighting, continue to support the launch of peace talks, and play a greater role in restoring peace and tranquillity to the Middle East”, Wang told Iran’s Abbas Araghchi in Beijing. “China considers that a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay, that it is even more unacceptable to restart hostilities, and that continuing to negotiate remai...

President Asif Ali Zardari has returned to Pakistan after concluding a five-day official visit to China, marking another step in strengthening bilateral diplomatic and economic ties.

The commissioning ceremony of the first Hangor-class attack submarine, PNS Hangor, was held in China’s Sanya city, with President Asif Ali Zardari and the naval chief attending the event. President Zardari, who is on a visit to China, participated as the chief guest, while Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf was also present, according to a press release by the Pakistan Navy. President Zardari described the commissioning of Hangor as a historic milestone in the navy’s modernisation, affirming Pakistan’s resolve to maintain a “robust, balanced and credible defence posture”. He affirmed that Pakistan was fully capable of defending its sovereignty, protecting its maritime interests and ensuring the security of its economic lifelines. “The advanced submarine strengthens Pakistan’s maritime defence, protects economic lifelines and reflects strategic partnership with China,” a statement by the Presidency said. The submarine class, named after the PNS Hangor, is a diesel-electric attack submarine with air...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday invited Chinese investment into “priority sectors,” particularly alternative energy sources, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The president arrived in China on Saturday for a week-long visit to the Hunan and Hainan provinces for engagements related to economic and trade cooperation. President Zardari held a meeting with the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hangzhou Jinjiang Group, Wang Jian, in Sanya, where he invited the Chinese company to invest in “priority sectors, including alternate energy, water treatment, and electric vehicle battery systems”, according to Radio Pakistan. The president, according to the report, “noted that Pakistan is actively encouraging foreign investment in various sectors, especially water treatment, electric vehicle battery systems and alternate energy”. “Such partnerships could support sustainable growth and industrial development,” the report said, adding that President Zardari assured the company of “all possible facilitation to foreig...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to visit China in May, in a move aimed at deepening high-level engagement between the two countries.

Pakistan and China on Monday signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in water desalination, agricultural technology, and the tea industry. President Asif Ali Zardari, who is on a week-long visit to China until May 1, witnessed the signing of the MoUs between Pakistani and Chinese entities. The MoUs reflect a focused effort to advance practical collaboration in key sectors. The first MoU was concluded between the Sindh local government and Lucion Environmental Technology Group for collaboration on a seawater desalination project in Karachi, aimed at increasing the city’s water supply. The MoU was signed by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon and Lucion Group’s Chairman Yuhui, also the secretary of the Party Branch. Memon also signed an MoU between the Sindh local government and Long Ping Hi-tech Information Company for cooperation in agricultural technology with the firm’s chairman, Chen Zhixin. The third MoU was signed between Meskay & Femtee Trading Company, H...

Pakistan and China have signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in desalination, agricultural technology and the tea industry.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday expressed Pakistan’s interest in closer collaboration in seed technology, agricultural research and modern farming practices with China as he met the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hunan. The president arrived in China on Saturday for a week-long visit to the Hunan and Hainan provinces for engagements related to economic and trade cooperation. He will remain in Hunan’s Changsha city until Monday, and then travel to Hainan’s Sanya from April 28 to May 1. A press release issued by the President’s Secretariat said Zardari held a meeting with CCP Secretary Shen Xiaoming and also attended a banquet by Hunan Governor Mao Weiming. “The engagement [with Xiaoming] focused on advancing practical cooperation in agriculture, health, education and trade, while reaffirming the enduring strength of Pakistan-China relations,” it stated. President Zardari invited Xiaoming to visit Pakistan in connection with the 75th anniversary celebrations of diplomatic relations betwe...

President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in China just past midnight on Saturday, for a trip where he will attend engagements related to economic and trade cooperation, as well as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). According to a statement from his office, the president arrived in Changsha and was received by Hu Xusheng, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People’s Congress. “[The] ambassadors of China in Pakistan and Pakistan in China were also present on the occasion,” the President’s Secretariat said. Earlier in the day, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider had seen off the president at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, state-run PTV said. According to the Foreign Office (FO), the president will travel to Hunan province’s Changsha from April 25 to 27, and then to Hainan province’s Sanya from April 28 to May 1. “During the visit, the president will hold meetings with provincial leadership to review the full spectrum of Pakistan–China ties, with particular focu...