Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is on a four day visit to Beijing after he touched down Friday morning. He is expected to hold bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, following which there will several pacts signed.
His visit occurs due to his country’s financial crisis, with his economy under a whopping 13 billion debt. He seeks emergency aid of $8 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is likely going to seek funds from China to avoid going to the former.
Recently, Saudi Arabia pledged to provide the ailing economy a $6 billion bailout package of which $3bn balance of payments support and another $3bn in deferred payments on oil imports.
This comes in straight agreement with Saudi’s decision to seek economic and investment opportunities outside of its oil business as part of its Vision 2030.
China has already agreed to invest over $60 billion in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to build roads, ports, power plants and industrial parks.
Khan, who has in the past criticised CPEC for lack of transparency and corruption, recently said his government is reviewing the projects.
During his visit, Khan will attend the inauguration of China’s biggest international import expo in Shanghai.
