BEIJING: President Dr Arif Alvi arrived here on Monday on a two-day visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

He is accompanied by a delegation including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and senior officials.

The president was warmly welcomed by Chinese Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi and other senior officials of the Chinese government and Pakistan Embassy in Beijing.

A smartly turned out contingent of the People’s Liberation Army presented a guard of honour.

President Alvi will hold separate meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other Chinese leaders.

A number of memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed during the visit.

This is the president’s first visit to China, which is specifically aimed at conveying strong support and solidarity of Pakistan towards the government and the people of China in their battle against coronavirus.

The visit will play an important role in further solidifying the historic bonds of trust and mutual support between the two countries.

It will also serve as an opportunity for the leadership of the two countries to review bilateral, regional and international issues and to advance the shared goals of promoting peace, prosperity and development in the region and beyond.

Pakistan and China are the closest friends and staunch partners. They are joined together in an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. This time-tested friendship is based on unparalleled mutual trust, understanding and commonality of interests.

The leaderships of both countries are fully committed to building closer China-Pakistan community of shared future in the new era.

During a brief media talk prior to his departure to China, President Alvi said he was undertaking the visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping where he would express solidarity with the people of China who had fought the coronavirus epidemic.

He said China wanted to thank Pakistan for expressing solidarity during the coronavirus epidemic and the way Pakistan as a brother trusted them for taking care of the Pakistanis residing there.

“I am visiting China to express solidarity with the Chinese people and to express condolences over loss of lives,” he added.

The president said that he would also get input from the Chinese experiences in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

China donates $4m, supplies

China has provided emergency assistance to Pakistan for COVID-19 prevention and control, according to the China Global Television Network (CGTN).

“China has provided emergency assistance to Pakistan for #COVID19 prevention and control, including 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, 10,000 protective suits and 4 million US dollars to build hospitals, according to ambassador Yao Jing,” the news outlet wrote on Twitter.

Earlier in February, Pakistan sent medical supplies to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak at that time.

Among the medical supplies were 0.3 million medical masks, 800 hazmat suits and 6,800 pairs of medical gloves.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2020