Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was welcomed on Monday at the Great Hall of the People, where he met his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang.

PM Shehbaz landed in China on Saturday on a four-day official visit, reaching Beijing yesterday after making a stop in Hangzhou.

The prime minister was presented with a guard of honour upon his arrival at the Great Hall of the People.

Both the leaders shook hands and introduced their respective delegations to each other. The national anthems of Pakistan and China were played as both leaders stood at the salute dias.

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, who concluded his visit to Iran on Saturday, could be seen present on the occasion as well.

Addressing the delegation-level talks with Li Qiang, PM Shehbaz thanked the Chinese side for its “very warm invitation” to visit China.

“It is always a great pleasure to visit your great country, and each time we come, we find new changes and major developments taking place all over this wonderful country,” he said.

The prime minister extended his condolences over the tragic gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi, where at least 82 people were killed.

PM Shehbaz stressed that the visit came at a “critical moment of history”, noting that both countries were celebrating 75 years of “our glorious friendship and diplomatic relations established by our founding fathers”.

“They did a great job, they laid a strong foundation, a strong edifice between our two countries and here we are, trying to take that legacy and moving in that direction,” he added.

The prime minister then mentioned the Middle East conflict, saying that the “world is passing through a very critical moment”.

“There is a crisis in the Gulf and Pakistan has played a very sincere role to mediate between the United States and Iran,” he said, noting that CDF Munir had just returned from Tehran.

“And he didn’t want to miss this great visit, and he assured me that he will be joining me in this meeting, and he has been travelling throughout the night,” Shehbaz said.

The premier highlighted that the army chief “played a very important role back and forth with the Iranian leadership and the American leadership, along with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar”.

“We hope and pray to Allah Almighty that peace will be restored forever, and lots of ground has already been covered. Things are moving in the right direction,” PM Shehbaz said.

He thanked President Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership for their “great support to Pakistan to promote peace and achieve a ceasefire”, adding that Islamabad fully endorsed Xi’s four-point peace agenda.

“I think we have to really be together, so that the world at large is at peace and business as usual starts again, because this crisis has hit not only the economy in the region […] but the global community,” the premier asserted.

He then opened the floor to Li Qiang for his remarks.

While in Beijing, PM Shehbaz will hold meetings with the Chinese leadership, including President Xi and Premier Li.

He will also attend a reception hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Attaullah Tarar, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and other senior government officials are accompanying PM Shehbaz on the visit.

More to follow

Additional input from APP