Chinese foreign minister to arrive in Pakistan on a three-day visit

ISLAMABAD: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on a three-day official visit at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday. During his stay in the country, Wang will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and President-elect Arif Alvi. He will also interact with Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, discuss regional security issues with Pakistani leaders, and evaluate the pace of work on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Chinese foreign minister’s trip to the country comes a few days after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s diplomatic engagements in Islamabad. This also makes him the third foreign minister — after the Iranian and American dignitaries — who arrived in Pakistan in less than two weeks. Analysts believe Pakistan’s ties with China have become far more significant that its diplomatic relations with other countries since President Xi Jinping announced his famous Belt and Road initiative in September 2013. They also maintain that Beijing’s decision to finance a combination of energy, infrastructure and industrial projects as part of the CPEC initiative has pulled Pakistan into the center of Chinese plan to dominate the Indo-Pacific region and redefine the dynamics of global politics. CPEC is also touted as Pakistan’s opportunity to change its economic geography, making many experts argue it will have huge geopolitical implications in a fast-changing global political landscape. This will also be the first official visit by a Chinese dignitary since the new government was formed in Pakistan and is likely to further strengthen relations between the two countries