President Arif Alvi conferred Pakistan's highest civil award, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, on Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan during an investiture ceremony held at Aiwan-e-Sadar in Islamabad on Sunday.

The award was given to the Chinese dignitary to honour his role in the promotion of bilateral ties between Pakistan and China.

Vice-President Qishan had arrived in Islamabad earlier in the day on a three-day official visit to Pakistan, Radio Pakistan reported.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Khusro Bakhtiar received VP Qishan upon his arrival at Nur Khan airbase.

Qureshi said the Chinese vice president would also be received by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in Lahore, where he would visit historical places.

Engagements throughout the day

VP Qishan met with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan and delegation-level meetings between the two countries were also held.

Later in the day, several Memoranda of Understanding were signed "for cooperation in different sectors", according to a tweet by the Prime Minister's Office.

Furthermore, PM Imran and VP Qishan "unveiled the plaques of four mega development projects in the fields of energy, technology and education under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)".

"The two leaders also inaugurated the Confucius Institute at the University of Punjab. The institute mainly provides Chinese education, cultural promotion and cultural exchanges and other projects and activities," the PM Office said in a subsequent Twitter statement.

According to the PM Office, the ceremony also marked the launch of a Huawei Technical Support Centre in Pakistan as part of the tech giant's commitment to invest heavily in Pakistan.

Qishan's visit is expected to reinforce bilateral ties and add impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between both countries in diverse fields.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had said that Qishan’s visit to Pakistan would further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries and advance the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, besides bilateral cooperation across the board.