Chinese President Xi Jinping has publicly thanked Pakistan for its role in facilitating contacts between the United States and Iran, highlighting Islamabad’s growing diplomatic role in efforts to end a war that has disrupted global energy markets and trade routes.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi praised Pakistan’s contribution to the peace process and thanked the Pakistani leadership for its constructive efforts.
He also specifically acknowledged Field Marshal Asim Munir, noting his role in recent diplomatic engagements involving Iran and the United States.
The meeting came as Prime Minister Shehbaz said significant progress had been made toward restoring peace in the region. Speaking in Beijing, the prime minister stated that Pakistan had played an important role in efforts to resolve the crisis and credited Field Marshal Asim Munir with helping facilitate contacts between Tehran and Washington.
He also thanked China for supporting Pakistan’s peace initiatives and noted that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had jointly announced a five-point framework aimed at promoting a ceasefire and regional stability.
During the visit, Pakistani and Chinese companies signed agreements and memorandums of understanding worth more than US$7 billion at a business-to-business investment conference. The deals covered sectors including information technology, telecommunications, agriculture and battery energy storage systems.
Prime Minister Shehbaz also met Alibaba executives, including Chairman Joe Tsai, and witnessed the signing of a long-term cooperation framework between Pakistan and Alibaba. The partnership is expected to focus on cloud computing, data centres, artificial intelligence, healthcare technology, telemedicine, financial technology, agriculture and digital trade.
Separately, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology announced a series of digital cooperation agreements with Chinese partners.
These included collaborations between Ignite and Alibaba DAMO Academy to develop advanced AI capabilities at Pakistani universities, support for sovereign cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence ecosystems, as well as initiatives related to digital skills, certification programs, financial technology and 5G development.
The visit marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China and underscored the growing importance of both strategic and economic cooperation between the two countries.
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