Xi Jinping to visit Pakistan, Indonesia

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.