Pakistani PM picks China for first overseas trip, reciprocating Li's visit

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will start his six-day state visit to China on Wednesday on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's invitation, marking his first overseas visit since taking office in May.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday that China places a high premium on Prime Minister Sharif's visit, adding that the visiting prime minister will hold talks with Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li.

This also comes after Li's visit to the neighboring country in May, when the two sides reached an agreement on building a China-Pakistan economic corridor. Experts told the Global Times earlier that a major objective of Li's visit was to seek closer economic and trade cooperation.

Sharif said on Saturday when meeting with Chinese reporters in Islamabad that building this corridor could change the fate of this region, adding that there are many economic fields on which the two countries could cooperate, from energy to infrastructure.

"Mutual visits by the prime ministers of the two countries in less than two months underscore the special friendship and the importance the two sides attach to developing China-Pakistan relations," Hua added.

"It is very smart for Sharif to choose China as his first overseas trip," Wang Dehua, head of the Southern and Central Asian Studies Institute of the Shanghai Institute for International Strategic Studies, told Global Times. "Currently, Pakistan is suffering from economic hardship and it needs China's support."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said in a statement on its website that on the sidelines of talks with the Chinese leadership, Sharif's engagements will include meetings with leaders of the Chinese financial and corporate sector, interaction with media and visits to major industrial centers and special economic zones.