Prime Minister Imran Khan will leave for China today to attend the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Leaders of 20 other countries will also be present in China on the occasion. Important to note, Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping after two years.
PM Khan’s visit to China is of paramount importance, as he will visit China the first time after the Dasu incident. On 14 July 2021, a bus carrying Chinese workers in the Dasu area of Upper Kohistan District fell into a ravine after an explosion, killing nine Chinese residents and 4 Pakistanis.
The visit also seeks to reassure China of Pakistan’s unwavering support, especially at a time when China finds itself diplomatically isolated from the West. To clarify, the US, UK, and Canada declared a diplomatic boycott of the games, along with Australia, Lithuania, and Kosovo. Although they will all send athletes to compete, no ministers or officials will attend.
Read more: US boycotts Beijing Winter Olympics
Furthermore, PM Khan’s visit aims to strengthen the economic terms between China and Pakistan. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry revealed that PM Khan will discuss 21-different sectors with the Chinese leadership.
The sectors that leaders will discuss during PM’s visit relate to the Special Economic Zones created under CPEC, trade, information technology, agriculture, and the relocation of massive Chinese industries to Pakistan. PM Khan directed all ministers to prepare memorandums of understanding for his visit to China. As a result, the government put together a pitch book.
The pitch book put together with a focsed effort, making the case for Pakistan as a preferred investment destination. It covers the generic strengths of Pakistan, as well as specific priority sectors. PMIK will present this to Chinese leadership. Excellent work khalid mansoor pic.twitter.com/PXDjg0wMMN
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) February 3, 2022
Important to note, in recent years, CPEC’s growth slowed down. However, the visit aims to rejuvenate CPEC. PM’s Special Assistant on CPEC Khalid Mansoor told the media that this time around, they were better prepared and had done a comparative analysis of the opportunities Pakistan could provide to Chinese investors.
More investment in power sector?
Additionally, there are reports that PM Khan may also ask his Chinese counterpart to roll over the loans Pakistan took for different projects including the energy sector under CPEC.
The incumbent PTI government believes that the previous government of PML-N awarded energy projects to China at a high rate of return. Pakistan took up the matter with China through diplomatic channels but Beijing refused to reduce the rate of return. The PTI government even planned to discuss the matter with President Xi when was scheduled to visit Pakistan. However, he has not arrived yet. Therefore, PM Khan will take the opportunity to discuss the issue in China.
Read more: High expectations from PM Imran Khan’s visit to China
On the other hand, another important aspect of this visit is that PM Khan will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin is also going to be in attendance. This visit is going to be the first meeting between the heads of state since the global pandemic began.