Chinese FM Wang Yi due in Islamabad to co-chair strategic dialogue on August 21

• Wang Yi to co-chair Islamabad dialogue.
• CPEC, trade, peace top agenda in talks.
• First Pakistan visit since India’s May aggression.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Islamabad to co-chair the 6th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue on August 21, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the visit forms part of regular high-level exchanges aimed at further strengthening the “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership” between Pakistan and China.

The dialogue will reaffirm mutual support on each other’s core interests, enhance economic and trade cooperation, and underline both countries’ commitment to regional peace, development, and stability.

According to The News, Wang Yi’s engagements will include meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with a focus on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) progress, economic collaboration, regional security, and defence ties. 

The Chinese foreign minister is also expected to meet Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in Rawalpindi.

This will be Wang Yi’s first visit to Pakistan since India’s cross-border aggression in May last year and comes weeks after his meeting with Field Marshal Munir in Beijing, a development seen as reinforcing the “ironclad” relationship between Islamabad and Beijing.

Diplomatic sources have further indicated that the much-anticipated trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan is expected to take place in Kabul immediately after Wang Yi’s visit.

DPM Dar is likely to accompany him for the talks with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, though officials have not ruled out the possibility of the Afghan foreign minister travelling to Islamabad instead. The discussions are expected to cover regional stability and Pakistan’s security concerns regarding Afghanistan.

Sources noted that some global capitals had attempted to obstruct the trilateral dialogue, but after weeks of negotiations, the three sides agreed to proceed. The meeting is seen as an important step in advancing trilateral cooperation.

Wang Yi’s trip carries significant regional weight as it follows his stop in New Delhi and precedes Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China later this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.