Imran Khan begins China visit, meets Xi

BEIJING: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan met Chinese President Xi Jinping within hours of landing here on Friday for a fourday visit amid expectations that Beijing will infuse much-needed cash into its neighbour’s wobbly economy.

Besides Islamabad’s economic woes, the China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – comprising several infrastructure projects including some in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir – are believed to have been the focus of discussions between Xi and Khan.

China is said to have already invested more than $60 billion in projects under the CPEC, a flagship venture of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Counter-terrorism to is expected to have figured during the Xi-khan meeting.

Khan’s visit to China, his first after becoming premier, is taking place against the backdrop of Islamabad seeking some $8 billion to $12 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to tackle a financial crisis. Khan is scheduled to hold talks with Premier Li Keqiang on bilateral ties. He will also attend China’s International Import Expo in Shanghai on November 5.

Pakistani scholar Ghulam Ali, from the department of political science at Sichuan University of Science and Engineering and author of “China-pakistan Relations – A Historical Analysis”, explained the importance of the visit. “Khan is visiting because he is in dire need of some financial help. So that explains its importance to Pakistan and the current government,” Ali said.