Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-04-18
Xi Jinping attends a conference in Hainan province, March 29. (File photo/CNS) |
Chinese
president Xi Jinping will visit Pakistan and attend meetings in Indonesia next
week, the foreign ministry announced on Friday morning.
The
president will pay a state visit to Pakistan on Monday and Tuesday at the
invitation of Pakistani president Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif.
At the
invitation of Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Xi will attend the
Asian-African Summit and activities to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the
Bandung Conference from Tuesday to Friday.
Xi's
two-day state visit to Pakistan will be his first trip to the South Asian
country since he assumed the presidency in 2013.
Foreign
minister Wang Yi said the visit would provide a powerful impetus to the
China-Pakistan friendship and deepen comprehensive collaboration.
This year
is the China-Pakistan Year of Friendly Exchanges.
The two
countries are scheduled to issue a joint statement during Xi's visit, and sign
deals on energy, infrastructure, trade, finance and technology.
"The
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be high on the agenda,"
former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Zhou Gang said.
The CPEC
was proposed during Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Pakistan in May 2013. The
planned corridor will connect Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region with Gwadar Port in Pakistan. A project outline was signed in Beijing
last November.
"The
corridor is a new platform for China-Pakistan cooperation," said assistant
foreign minister Liu Jianchao Friday at a press briefing.
After
Pakistan, Xi will travel to Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Asian-African Summit.
During this visit, Xi will go to the heritage city of Bandung, West Java, to
attend events on the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference.
Xi will
deliver a speech at the Asian-African Summit on the Bandung spirit in a new
era, and elaborate China's proposals for Asian-African cooperation and hold
bilateral meetings with other leaders.
In 1955,
representatives from 29 Asian and African countries gathered in Bandung to
discuss independence, peace and economic prosperity. The conference adopted a
final communique containing ten principles that underlined respect for
sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations and recognized the
equality of all races and all nations.
"The
Bandung Conference was a milestone for Chinese diplomacy as China, together
with India and Myanmar, proposed the five principles on peaceful
relations," Ma Zhengang, a former Chinese diplomat, said, adding that a
number of Asian countries opened diplomatic relations with China after the
conference.
The visits
to Pakistan and Indonesia highlight China's attitude to its neighbors.
"The visit
is a substantial step in building a community of shared destiny with
neighboring countries," said Zhai Kun, professor of international
relations with the Peking University, noting this community is not an abstract
concept, but is built on solid platforms like the belt and road initiative, the
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road fund.
The belt
and road initiative, also known as the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st
century maritime Silk Road, connect East Asia at one end with Europe at the
other.
With 57
founding members confirmed, the AIIB is scheduled to adopt a charter in June
and start operations by the end of the year.
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