AFTER his successful visit to the United State where he held fruitful talks with senior leadership of the host country on ways and means to rejuvenate the otherwise lukewarm relationship, Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari landed in the Chinese city of Guangzhou on his first official visit to the country at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
The two leaders discussed economic coordination, industrialisation and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Independent analysts and foreign policy experts agree that Bilawal represented the country maturely and defended its causes strongly during meetings with American leaders and talks in China.
His visit to the United States assumed greater significance in the backdrop of uncalled-for twist given to the ‘lettergate’ by the PTI leadership as it bruised bilateral ties with the United States.
In this backdrop, it is heartening to note that Bilawal was successful in securing assurances that the bilateral relationship would not be allowed to be affected by rhetoric triggered by internal politics.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted Bilawal at a short notice and at a presser Bilawal won applause back home when he defended former PM Imran Khan’s visit to Russia.
It is also important to note that during Bilawal’s wide-ranging talks with State Councilor Wang Yi, the two sides reaffirm their resolve to enhance economic engagement, trade, investment, industrialization and CPEC cooperation besides discussion on issues facing Pakistani students in China.
This resolve of the two countries was also highlighted by strong remarks offered by spokesperson of Chinese External Affairs Ministry Wang Wenbin who said that as all-weather strategic cooperative partners, it was necessary for China and Pakistan to improve communication and coordination on major issues to deal with changes in the region and risks and challenges.
Hopefully, something concrete would emerge during the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister to China, taking bilateral cooperation in different fields to new heights for mutual benefit.
