BEIJING (APP): Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has arrived in China to participate in the ‘3rd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation.’ He was received by Chinese Minister of Science & Technology, Wang Zhigang, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong and Ambassador of Pakistan to China Moin-ul-Haq.
The Prime Minister is undertaking the visit at the invitation of China’s President Xi Jinping. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation including members of the cabinet and senior government officials. The Prime Minster will attend the Opening Ceremony of the BRF and address the High-Level Forum titled ‘Connectivity in an Open Global Economy’ to be held on 18 October 2023.
The Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Mr. Li Xi, member of the Standing Committee of Politburo of CPC Central Committee. The leaders will discuss all facets of bilateral relations, with particular focus on strengthening trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. They will exchange views on major regional and global developments. The Prime Minister will also meet with other leaders of countries participating in the BRF.
While in China, the Prime Minister will meet with leading Chinese entrepreneurs and preside over an interactive roundtable on CPEC to explore new avenues for strengthening trade and investment ties between Pakistan and China. To further strengthen regional connectivity, trade, investment and people-to-people contacts between the neighbouring regions of Pakistan and China, Prime Minister Kakar will pay a two-day visit to Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In Urumqi, he will meet with local leadership and business persons and deliver a speech at the Xinjiang University.
The visit of the Prime Minister comes in the backdrop of ongoing celebrations marking the ten years of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) will be held in Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday, as the year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Leaders and representatives of countries from around the globe and international organizations have arrived in China, and Beijing is fully prepared for this major home diplomatic event.
In recent days, floral decorations, flags and banners bearing slogans for the third BRF can be seen in many parts of the capital, and some foreign guests who came for the event told the Global Times that with so much bad news about wars, conflicts and chaos elsewhere, China makes them believe that peace and development are still the mainstream of the world, and they are confident that by working together, members of the international community will eventually find solutions to the global challenges.
More world leaders arrived in Beijing on Monday. Following Kenyan President William Ruto and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who arrived on Sunday, foreign leaders including Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso have arrived in Beijing for the event.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also arrived on Monday. During his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Lavrov said Russian President Vladimir Putin is very much looking forward to having a summit with President Xi Jinping in China and participating in the forum, expressing confidence over the success of the event.
The first press briefing of the Media Center of the third BRF was held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing on Monday. Officials of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and other related departments were invited to brief the press and take questions from journalists of different countries.
Chinese analysts said the BRF will be a key and historic event, because the world is in turbulence and needs solutions and answers, and China, just like it has done in the past decade, will continue playing a role to guide and contribute to global development and governance when world peace and stability are facing serious challenges.
The BRI has distinguished China from traditional major powers. The BRI is a rejection of zero-sum confrontation, it is not even a “national strategy” by the traditional definition, nor a policy to serve the interests of only one country, said experts. “In the past, many people asked what China’s rise will bring to this world, and the BRI is an answer from China. The reason why more and more countries have become interested and participated in the initiative, despite some noises and stigmatizations from some Western politicians and media, is simple: It brings benefits to everyone,” said Shen Yi, an expert on international relations and professor at Fudan University.
Some Chinese netizens said the world is thread-worn and China is sewing it up, which is a vivid and accurate metaphor. The world today needs new answers, and this is why representatives of over 140 countries and 30-plus international organizations, including state leaders, heads of international organizations, ministerial officials and representatives of the business sector, academia and nongovernmental organizations are expected to participate in the forum, said experts.
PM arrives in China to attend 3rd BRF
