Imran Khan to depart for China today
07 October, 2019
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will depart for his official visit to China today (Monday) to discuss issues of regional and bilateral significance with the Beijing leadership. During his visit, the premier will hold separate meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
Imran Khan will discuss the expansion of projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework, besides cooperation in agriculture, industrial and socioeconomic sectors.
He is also likely to address the China-Pakistan Business Forum in Beijing to further promote economic and trade exchanges between the two countries. The prime minister will also meet Chinese entrepreneurs and heads of different companies during the visit. The two sides will discuss the immediate implementation of Phase-II of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, signed between the two strategic cooperative partners to further enhance bilateral business and trade. They will also examine the abolition of quota for all Pakistani agricultural products like rice, wheat, corn, soybean, sugar and tobacco.
According to some reports, Imran Khan has decided to hand over the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to China for its revival through a government-to-government deal and exploring options to finance multi-billion-dollar railways’ Mainline (ML-1). According to reports, the government is exploring different options regarding the PSM, including G2G deal with China, as the government cannot absorb losses that consistently. Pakistan’s top leadership will give assurances to the Chinese side that CPEC would not slow down, but its next phase would be pursued with zeal and vigour despite the IMF programme.
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