As Premier Li Qiang arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, on an official visit on Monday, China and Pakistan signed a series of cooperation documents and celebrated the completion of a new international airport, marking the latest progress in their joint efforts to build the Belt and Road.

The visit, which runs through Thursday, is Li's first trip to the South Asian nation as Chinese premier. It highlights the exchange of visits achieved by Li and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in just four months, as Sharif made a visit to China in June.

Analysts said that Li's visit shows the great importance China attaches to the development of China-Pakistan relations and its strong support for the new Pakistani administration.

The two sides are actively implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and the relationship is running at a high level, they added.

Li arrived in the Pakistani capital after concluding visits to Laos and Vietnam, and Sharif held a welcoming ceremony for him before their talks.

Through this trip, China looks forward to working with the Pakistani side to advance the traditional friendship, strengthen strategic communication, and build on the region's peace and stability, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

Beijing aims to "promote the high-quality construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, deepen and expand all-around cooperation, and ensure the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan", she said.

Over the past 11 years, the CPEC — as part of the two nations' efforts in co-building the Belt and Roadhas brought a total of $25.4 billion in direct investment to Pakistan and created 236,000 jobs. It has helped Pakistan add 510 kilometers to its highways and 886 kilometers to its core grid, according to the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.

After their talks on Monday, Li and Sharif attended the completion ceremony of New Gwadar International Airport, located in the port city of Gwadar in southwestern Pakistan.

The construction of the airport, a flagship CPEC project, started in 2019. It is scheduled to open for operation by the end of the year, according to CAAC News, a newspaper affiliated with the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The new facility will help further improve Pakistan's airport network, develop the country's integrated transportation, and improve local transportation conditions as well as the investment environment there, the newspaper said.

Later this week, the Chinese premier will attend the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Islamabad.

He will engage in an in-depth exchange of views with the leaders of the participating countries on the implementation of the consensuses reached during the SCO summit held in July in Astana, Kazakhstan, and on advancing the practical cooperation of the group.

"China is confident that the meeting will achieve positive outcomes and provide more assistance to the security, stability and development of regional countries," said Mao, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

Both China and Pakistan are members of the SCO and part of the Global South. China has assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-25.

Analysts noted that Pakistan was among the first group of non-founding countries to join the SCO, and plays an increasingly important role in the organization.

On Sunday, speaking with local media representatives, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong said, "We are ready to strengthen solidarity and expand cooperation with various countries including Pakistan."

Beijing is ready to strengthen cooperation in areas such as politics, security, the economy and culture, promote the building of a closer SCO community with a shared future, and make new contributions to the growth of the Global South and the prosperity of the countries in this region, the ambassador added.

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