At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 26, further strengthening both countries' long-standing friendship and pragmatic cooperation on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

The visit will highlight a new chapter in the 75-year-old China-Pakistan relationship, widely recognized for mutual trust and enduring cooperation amid changing international circumstances.

At a ceremony held in Islamabad on Thursday, Sharif lauded the "steadfast" Pakistan-China friendship. He was quoted by Pakistani news organization Dawn as saying that "Earthquakes, floods, peace and difficult times – China has always supported Pakistan in an unwavering fashion."

Over the past 75 years, China and Pakistan have enjoyed positive and steadily growing relations. They developed an all-weather strategic partnership in 2015, and later in 2018 agreed to strengthen the all-weather strategic partnership and build a closer China-Pakistan community of a shared future in the new era.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Sharif's upcoming visit includes holding talks with the Chinese leadership, attending a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary of bilateral ties, and visiting the eastern province of Zhejiang, a powerhouse of China's economy, with the aim of strengthening political mutual trust and economic cooperation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Thursday that Sharif's upcoming visit is an important high-level exchange to celebrate the 75th anniversary of bilateral ties. Guo added that China hopes both sides will take the visit as an opportunity to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen cooperation across the board, and write a new chapter in building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, in an interview with the Global Times, noted Sharif's itinerary in Zhejiang, saying the visit signals Pakistan's willingness to welcome more Chinese private enterprises to expand into its market and jointly inject new momentum into bilateral economic cooperation.

Regarding the economic cooperation between the two countries, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), launched in 2013, is a prime example. Hailing CPEC as a "flagship project" of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, said in a signed article on Thursday that the project has attracted over $25.9 billion in direct investment and created more than 260,000 jobs.

CPEC has also added over 8,000 megawatts of power capacity, developed 510 kilometers of roads and 886 kilometers of transmission lines. The Gwadar port has also been expanded with deep-water berths to handle large cargo ships, becoming a major regional hub, and the Suki Kinari Hydropower Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa now generates 884 MW of clean energy while reducing coal use and carbon emissions.

Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, at an event in Islamabad in late March, said the CPEC has strengthened Pakistan's energy security, infrastructure and connectivity, and laid the foundations of a modern economic architecture.

During the seventh round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue in January, China and Pakistan agreed to further align their development plans and priorities, build an upgraded version of the CPEC, known as CPEC 2.0.

According to a joint press communique released after the dialogue, both sides agreed to focus on three key sectors, namely industry, agriculture and mining, promote the building and operation of the Gwadar Port, ensure the smooth passage of the Karakoram Highway, and enhance Pakistan's capacity for sustainable development.

"CPEC is now entering the second phase, marking a strategic shift from infrastructure development to industrialization, innovation and inclusive growth," Iqbal said, expressing hope that both sides would continue to move forward with firm determination and build the upgraded version of CPEC into a corridor full of hope, innovation, opportunity and prosperity.

(Cover: Flags of China and Pakistan. /VCG)