China’s Li Qiang vows ‘upgraded’ Pakistan economic corridor on first visit to Islamabad

Chinese premier opens trip with joint opening of Beijing-funded New Gwadar International Airport ahead of two days of SCO meetings

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:30pm, 15 Oct 2024Updated: 5:59pm, 15 Oct 2024

Premier Li Qiang reiterated China’s pledge to upgrade a multibillion-dollar economic corridor with Pakistan and deepen joint counterterrorism efforts with its military as he arrived in Islamabad on Monday.

Li, who is on his first visit to the South Asian country as premier, will be attending a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation heads of government meeting in the Pakistani capital during his four-day trip.

“China is willing to work with Pakistan, focusing on establishing an upgraded version of the CPEC,” Li told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, with more than US$65 billion pledged for projects in Pakistan as of 2022.

Formally announced in 2013, the 3,000km (1,864-mile) route of infrastructure projects aims to connect landlocked western China to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan’s deep sea Gwadar Port.

Earlier, Li and Sharif inaugurated the Beijing-funded New Gwadar International Airport in a televised virtual ceremony.