Islamabad – The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, is making a vital four-day visit to China that will see him attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Summit, and head an official bilateral visit aimed at solidifying the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The visit, which is planned between August 31 and September 3, is a turning point in the foreign policy as well as the economic progress of Pakistan.

PM Sharif is scheduled to visit Tianjin first to attend the SCO Summit, which is held between August 31 and September 1. It will also be attended by leaders worldwide, such as the Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, and the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among others.

The SCO agenda will be aimed at enhancing the security of the region, economic collaboration, and spreading the multipolar world order by introducing the Tianjin Declaration and the new strategy of the upcoming development.

Opening of CPEC-II

After the summit, PM Sharif shall also go to Beijing on a separate bilateral visit. The main point of this visit will be the formal opening of the second stage of CPEC or CPEC-II. The Planning Minister of Pakistan, Ahsan Iqbal, believes that this new phase is a tremendous diversion in terms of concentrating on quantity rather than quality.

The initial stage of CPEC was focused on major infrastructural projects such as roads, power facilities, and railways, but CPEC-II is going to focus on industrial collaboration, technological advances, and agricultural modernization.

The new phase can be seen as seeking to diversify the export base of Pakistan by establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs), foreign direct investment, and market accessibility of Pakistani products in China. According to the officials, this may improve the annual trade between Pakistan and China by up to 30 billion and 50 billion.

Attending the Military Parade

Another focal point of the visit is the long-held strategic alliance between the two countries. On the 3rd of September, PM Sharif will be a guest at a military parade in Beijing, an occasion also to be attended by other major leaders, including Russian President Putin. This is a sign of the close military and diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.