Chinese President Xi Jinping To Visit Pakistan Soon, Says Shehbaz Sharif

Last Updated:January 19, 2026, 20:14 IST

Xi Jinping's expected visit will come as Pakistan’s engagement with the US has gained momentum, which has raised eyebrows in Beijing.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Reuters/File)

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the country soon, in an attempt to deepen cooperation amid Islamabad’s outreach with the United States.

While addressing the Pak-China Investment Conference in Islamabad on Monday, Sharif said Xi’s visit would focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0, describing it as a “new chapter", emphasising on agriculture, IT, artificial intelligence, mines and minerals, and youth development. He said Pakistan could transform its agricultural sector in a matter of months by adopting modern technologies and strengthening cooperation with China.

Noting that nearly 65% of the Pakistani population still resides in rural areas, Sharif said Pakistan must aim to generate a trade surplus in agriculture through higher yields, competitive costs and superior quality, with Chinese experts providing support.

He stated that China was deepening coordination with Pakistan under bilateral action plans and had signalled readiness to continue cooperation. The Pakistani PM stressed that Beijing was aiming to stabilise bilateral trade with the cash-strapped country at around $1 billion while maintaining Pakistan’s trade surplus with China.

Xi’s expected visit came at a time when Pakistan’s engagement with the US has gained momentum, including former Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s high-profile interactions in Washington and reports of discussions linked to US regional security interests, including Gaza.

However, there have been cracks in this relationship, with Chinese authorities raising concerns over repeated attacks on Chinese nationals during a recent China-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue held in Beijing. Around 90 Chinese citizens working on CPEC and related infrastructure projects have been killed in Pakistan since 2014, underscoring Beijing’s long-standing demand for a safer operating environment.

The visit also comes amid a sharp exchange between India and China over territorial claims on the Shaksgam Valley in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India strongly rejected China’s infrastructure projects in the Shaksgam Valley through the CPEC, calling them ‘illegal and invalid,’ and said the region is an ‘integral and inalienable part’ of India. The Ministry of External Affairs also reiterated that India does not recognise the so-called CPEC.

In response, China rejected India’s claim to the Shaksgam Valley, saying it was completely justified for China to build infrastructure on its own land. Beijing justified the boundary agreement signed with Pakistan in the 1960s, saying it was “the right of China and Pakistan as sovereign countries".

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