China and Pakistan reaffirm ties as Imran Khan arrives in Beijing in search of a bailout
- Prime minister ‘wants to learn’ from his giant neighbour on first visit to China since taking office in August
- Xi Jinping says he wants to strengthen ties and build a ‘new era’ for the two nations
China and Pakistan reaffirmed their “all-weather” relations in Beijing on Friday, as visiting Prime Minister Imran Khan sought fresh financial support from his giant neighbour in the face of a troubled economy back home.
“We have inherited a very difficult economic situation,” he told President Xi Jinping when they met at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.
“Unfortunately, our country is going through a low point at the moment with two very big deficits, a fiscal deficit and a current account deficit,” he said. “And so we, as I’ve said, have come to learn.”
Khan, who arrived in Beijing on Thursday evening for a five-day visit – his first to the city since his election victory in August – said before he left that he wanted to learn more from China, which is not only Pakistan’s strategic partner but also its biggest foreign investor and aid donor.
Xi said that Beijing was “willing to work with the prime minister to strengthen the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic partnership and build a new era” in the two countries’ ties.