China | Pakistan

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Saturday, arrived in Hangzhou on the first phase of his four-day official visit to China.

A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 90 people, state media reported on Saturday, the country’s biggest mining disaster in 17 years. The blast occurred at 7:29pm on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, according to state news agency Xinhua. At least 90 people had died and 123 others were sent to hospital for treatment, four of whom were in critical or severe condition, state broadcaster CCTV said. Of those sent for treatment, 33 had returned home as of 2:00pm on Saturday, it added. A total of 755 emergency and medical personnel were dispatched to the site, with rescue efforts still ongoing Saturday afternoon, CCTV added. Survivor and injured miner Wang Yong told CCTV there was a “puff of smoke” and he smelled sulphur. He recalled seeing people choked by the smoke before he fainted. “I lay down for about an hour and woke up by myself. I called the people next to me and got out of the mine together,” Wang said, according to CCTV. Helmeted rescuers were carrying s...

PM Shehbaz to meet President Xi, counterpart during four-day China visit ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a four-day official visit to China from Saturday (today).

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi on Friday officially announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be undertaking a visit to China from May 23-26. During his weekly press briefing, he said, “At the invitation of the People’s Republic of China, PM Shehbaz will undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 26.” He said that the premier’s visit assumed special significance as the two countries were also commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. “The visit will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the abiding strength of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic partnership and advance a shared vision of building an even closer Pakistan-China community of a shared future,” he said. Andrabi said that during the visit, the premier would hold meetings with the Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang. “The two sides will review bilateral relations, and cooperation in political, economic and strategic domains,” he said. “Th...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 26 at the invitation of the Chinese government, the Foreign Office said on Friday.

Islamabad - President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to its strategic partnership with China, describing bilateral relationship as a time-tested friendship rooted in mutual trust, shared aspirations, and steadfast support through every challenge.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said Islamabad and Beijing shared a “converging vision” on regional and global matters. “Pakistan and China share a converging vision on regional and global issues,” said Dar while addressing the Senate. A Chinese delegation was present in the visitors’ gallery to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. “We are committed to upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in a world facing complex challenges,” the foreign minister said. Dar stressed that cooperation between Pakistan and China at the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and other international forums had been “vital in defending the interests of developing countries and promoting global peace”. During his address, Dar said that he will be accompanying PM Shehbaz Sharif on his state visit to China from May 23 to 26, during which they will also attend celebrations marking the 75th anniversary...

ISLAMABAD - May 19:President Asif Ali Zardari’s official visit to China from April 25 to May 1 marked a major step forward in Pakistan-China relations, with the two countries signing five Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and one agreement spanning defence, agriculture, healthcare, industrial cooperation and technology sectors.

Massive box office Pakistani action-thriller to be released in cinemas across China on May 21

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Beijing on Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart and his “long-time good friend” Xi Jinping, intending to show their ties are unshakeable days after a visit by Donald Trump. The confirmation of Putin’s trip came just hours after Trump wrapped up his visit on Friday, the first by a US president to China in nearly a decade and one aimed at stabilising their turbulent relations. Putin and Xi are set to discuss how to “further strengthen” Russia and China’s strategic partnership and “exchange views on key international and regional issues”, according to a Kremlin statement. Their ties have deepened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Putin visiting Beijing every year since. Setting warm tones for the visit, the two leaders exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday to mark 30 years of their countries’ strategic partnership. Xi said cooperation between Russia and China had “continuously deepened and solidified”, according to Chinese state media. A...

President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing this week may have produced modest results by the standards of US-China summits but it highlighted a clear benefit for China: after the extremes of last year’s trade war, the countries have reverted to their familiar economic and strategic standoff. Two days of talks between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping underscored that even after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs and the ensuing trade detente the two sides reached late last year, Washington and Beijing are still locked in the contest that Trump inherited when he started his second term. For the United States, that means that the most troubling aspects of the relationship — from what it considers Beijing’s mercantilist trade policies to its efforts to increase its military clout in the Indo-Pacific — remain largely unaddressed. But for Xi it offers some breathing room and a return to a more predictable set of challenges. He appeared to describe the change this week with a new framework for the countries’ relatio...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China on May 19 for a two-day visit, hot on the heels of United States President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, the Kremlin said on Saturday. During the trip, the Russian leader will discuss with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping how to “further strengthen the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Beijing, according to a Kremlin statement. Putin and Xi will “exchange views on key international and regional issues” and sign a joint declaration at the conclusion of their talks, it added. As part of the visit, Putin is also scheduled to discuss economic and trade cooperation with Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The announcement of Putin’s trip comes just after Trump wrapped up on Friday the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade, with the grand reception belying a roster of unresolved trade and geopolitical tensions, including over the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Although Trump and Xi discussed the more than four-year-l...

US President Donald Trump’s summit with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing this week was the latest in decades of high-level diplomatic encounters between the two countries marked by drama, tension and surprising breakthroughs. Here are some of the most notable visits by US presidents to China: Cold War summit The US cut ties with China when the Communist Party (CCP) took over the country in 1949. Over two decades later, in February 1972, then-US president Richard Nixon flew to China to break the ice. Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong as well as premier Zhou Enlai, with whom he famously raised glasses of the fiery Chinese spirit baijiu. At a banquet in the Great Hall of the People, Nixon declared “there is no reason for us to be enemies”. A secret visit by national security adviser Henry Kissinger the year before laid the groundwork for the presidential trip, alongside reciprocal visits of table tennis teams termed “ping-pong diplomacy”. Nixon’s visit kicked off formal contacts that led to full diplomatic ...

United States President Donald Trump on Friday concluded his visit China, where he said he made “fantastic trade deals” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking to seal deals in sectors including agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence, as well as to contain differences between the two sides in a number of tense geostrategic areas — not least the Middle East war. Trump’s overtures to Xi, whom he described as a “great leader” and “friend”, have so far been met with more muted tones by the Chinese leader. But the US leader said “a lot of good” has come out of the visit. “We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” he said, as Xi accompanied him through the gardens of Zhongnanhai, a central leadership compound next to Beijing’s Forbidden City. “We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve,” Trump added, without providing details. Xi said it was a “milestone visit”, and that the two sides had to date est...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has successfully completed its inaugural Panda Bond issuance today in China’s onshore capital market - marking the country’s first-ever entry into the world’s second-largest and deepest capital market.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to undertake a three-day visit to China, starting May 23, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday. DPM Dar made the announcement while addressing the launch ceremony of the IBI Pakistan Digital Economy Centre in Islamabad. He said that the premier would undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 26. Dar added that premier was also set to attend a B2B forum on May 24 during the visit. Earlier this month, President Asif Ali Zardari completed a five-day visit to China, which was aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation across key economic sectors. He also oversaw the signing of multiple memoranda of understanding (MoUs). Pakistan and China share a longstanding strategic partnership with ties that span various sectors, including trade, energy, defence, and infrastructure. The two countries are also set to mark the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on May 21. The visit comes at a time when Pakistan has remained engaged in f...

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 25, in what is being seen as a significant diplomatic engagement aimed at further strengthening the longstanding strategic partnership between Islamabad and Beijing.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit China from May 23 to 25 for talks aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing cooperation in key sectors, sources said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who briefed him on his recent visit to China and consultations held there on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a “greater role” in ending hostilities in the Middle East during talks with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, a week before US President Donald Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping. China is a key customer for Iranian oil, defying sanctions imposed by the United States, and is directly affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, bordered by Iran. Beijing has quietly engaged in efforts to resolve the weekslong crisis and its diplomacy is credited with playing an important role in the fragile ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran. China “will work harder to ease tensions and end the fighting, continue to support the launch of peace talks, and play a greater role in restoring peace and tranquillity to the Middle East”, Wang told Iran’s Abbas Araghchi in Beijing. “China considers that a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay, that it is even more unacceptable to restart hostilities, and that continuing to negotiate remai...