Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay an official visit to China from Nov. 2 to 5 at the invitation of the top Chinese leadership. As his first visit to China, it is an opportunity to take a holistic view of the relationship and develop a workable plan to lift the cooperation to a new level.

The prime minister will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including the foreign minister and finance minister as well as representatives from the business community. It shows that the basic objective is to enhance commercial ties. 

He will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and also interact with leaders of China's financial and corporate sectors. Khan will also attend the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai. 

The relationship between China and Pakistan involves trust, immense goodwill, mutual respect and support for each other. The two sides characterize the ties with the encompassing phrase of the "all weather strategic cooperative partnership."

China is only the second country Prime Minister Khan will visit after making two successive trips to the "brotherly" country of Saudi Arabia. Already, high hopes have been expressed from the officials of the two countries about the outcome of his trip. 

Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that during the visit the two sides will review the entire range of bilateral relations which have enjoyed a long history of mutual trust and support. The two countries will also sign several agreements and memoranda of understanding for cooperation in diverse fields. 

Chinese foreign ministry's spokesperson Lu Kang said that Khan's visit would provide an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to open a new chapter of development of bilateral relations under new circumstances.

Islamabad is also hoping to get some kind of financial assistance from China on the pattern of the support announced by Saudi Arabia to address its current economic hardships. Riyadh offered a package worth US$6 billion to ease pressure on the balance of payments and to provide oil on deferred payments. 

Though, it is not clear yet how China can weigh in to support Pakistan's effort to wriggle out of its current problems, but it is surely in the interests of Beijing that its closest ally and friend finds much needed economic stability. 

The two sides are already cooperating on the implementation of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a project of roads, rails, investment parks, power generation schemes and so on – that will link northwestern China with the Gwadar seaport, located on the mouth of the Arabia Sea on the coast of Balochistan province of Pakistan. 

The corridor provides the shortest trade route for China to access the Middle East, Africa and Europe by sidestepping the traditional circuitous sea route which is getting complicated due to evolving global rivalries in the Pacific region. 

The CPEC is the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is a brainchild of President Xi and was launched five years ago with the aim of creating a community of mutually connected people and cooperation in diverse areas to become part of a win-win development formula.  

It is also important for the future of Pak-China economic and strategic ties and has wider regional dimensions because there are indications that the two countries may allow other nations to become part of the project. Thus, the bilateral corridor can become regional highway of peace.

In addition, the CPEC has great potential to change the contours of persisting regional rivalries and provide a plank to promote business and commercial linkages. Prime Minister Khan has announced that his government will expedite work on the CPEC and take it to the next level of development.  

Generally, the relations between Pakistan and China have been smooth but reportedly China in the past had some concerns about terrorism. Lately, concern about the burden of Chinese debt on Pakistan is also making headlines. 

Prime Minister Khan should use the visit to address such lingering concerns on a permanent basis. Creeping mutual suspicions do more damage to relations than frank expression of grievances.  

Khan's visit is an opportunity to remove even a minor irritant to further add value to this historical relationship. The meetings and discussions between leaders should set a platform to break new grounds for the strategic partnership in the new era. 

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

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