Terrorism and economy expected to top agenda at China-Pakistan talks as security concerns cloud belt and road

Counterterrorism cooperation and the economy are expected to be high on the agenda when Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif makes a five-day trip to China next week.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed on Friday that Sharif's trip, which starts on Tuesday, will include talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Sharif will also visit Guangdong province, China's economic hub, and the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

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"Under the guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China and Pakistan have in recent years had close high-level exchanges, steadily advanced practical cooperation ... on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and maintained sound communication and coordination in international and regional affairs," Mao said.

It is Sharif's first trip to China since starting his second term as prime minister in March. His visit comes amid concerns about security in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the site of a number of major Chinese infrastructure projects under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

In the latest in a string of attacks targeting personnel working on Chinese projects, five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide bombing on their way to the Dasu hydropower dam project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March.

Islamabad said it arrested 11 militants accused of being involved in the attack. It said the suicide bomber who targeted the Chinese convoy was an Afghan national.

One of the deadliest acknowledged attacks was in July 2021, when a suicide bomber on a bus killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers in the province. More than 20 Chinese personnel were wounded in that attack.

Sharif's visit also comes as Pakistan faces a debt crisis and fiscal deficits.

According to data shared by the State Bank of Pakistan, the country's external debt reached around US$130 billion in 2023 - double the figure in 2015.

Chinese debt accounts for 13 per cent of Pakistan's total foreign debt, said Zhao Shiren, China's counsel general in Lahore, while addressing a gathering of business leaders in March.

Security officials inspect the wreckage of a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals that plunged into a deep ravine after a suicide attack in northwest Pakistan on March 26. Photo: AFP alt=Security officials inspect the wreckage of a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals that plunged into a deep ravine after a suicide attack in northwest Pakistan on March 26. Photo: AFP>

Zhu Yongbiao, a professor with the school of politics and international relations at Lanzhou University, said China's investment in Pakistan would weather the constant terrorism threats.

Zhu said that China was "generally satisfied" with Pakistan's counterterrorism operations, but that both sides still needed to strengthen cooperation in the field.

"The main area [of the visit] is still economic and trade cooperation, in order to help Pakistan's development and enhance its capacity of self-reliance."

China is Pakistan's key trading partner and investor, especially in the country's infrastructure.

China's mega project in Pakistan - the CPEC - is a flagship infrastructure project under the global Belt and Road Initiative and is designed to link China's northwest Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region directly to the Arabian Sea and the oil-rich Middle East.

As of the end of 2022, the CPEC had brought in a total direct investment of US$25.4 billion to Pakistan, official news agency Xinhua reported, citing data from the Chinese embassy in Islamabad.

It generated 236,000 jobs, helped construct 510km (317 miles) of highway, and contributed to the development of an 886km national power transmission network in Pakistan.

Afghanistan could be another topic discussed during the talks. China has started to lean on Afghanistan's Taliban regime to prevent cross-border attacks on Chinese personnel and interests in neighbouring Pakistan, according to an earlier report from South China Morning Post.

The Post has learned that several Chinese diplomats in Islamabad and Kabul are seeking to persuade the Taliban to rein in Pakistani Taliban militants and prevent a surge in cross-border terrorism attacks.

Islamabad has accused Kabul of harbouring militants, but the Afghan regime has denied these claims.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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