Shahbaz Sharif visited China for the first time after becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif returned from a 4-day visit to China on Saturday. During a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Shahbaz once again raised the issue of Kashmir. He informed Jinping about all the latest updates related to Kashmir.
In the joint statement issued after the meeting, China said that it opposes India’s unilateral action in Jammu and Kashmir. There has been a long-standing dispute between India and Pakistan over this issue. This issue should be resolved peacefully under the UN Charter and UNSC resolutions.
China has made such statements on Kashmir on different occasions in the past, which India has always opposed. India’s Foreign Ministry had said that the whole world knows what India’s stand is on Kashmir. Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh are our integral part and will always remain so. No country has the right to comment on this matter.
A bilateral meeting was held between Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Shahbaz said – talks on increasing investment with China
After the meeting with Jinping, Sharif said that he discussed increasing mutual cooperation and investment with China. Pakistan is currently facing a serious economic crisis.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he is committed to strengthening bilateral partnership and relations with Pakistan. China is also committed to promoting development in Pakistan. Both countries will work together on regional peace, stability and development in this new era.
Agreement reached on timely completion of CPEC
According to Pakistan’s newspaper Dawn, Shahbaz Sharif and Jinping have agreed in the meeting on high quality development and timely completion of ongoing projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
What is CPEC
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an ambitious plan of Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was started in 2013. In this, an economic corridor is being built from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in China at a cost of 50 billion dollars (about 3 lakh crore rupees). Through this, China will have access to the Arabian Sea. Under CPEC, China is working on road, port, railway and energy projects.
This is why India objects to CPEC
- The $50 billion CPEC will connect Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Xinjiang in China.
- The CPEC also passes through the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which India claims.
- India believes that through CPEC, China is pursuing a policy of expansionism and is trying to encircle India.
