Mianyang / Shanghai:
President Asif Ali Zardari spent on Sunday deepening the Pakistan strategic partnership with China, visiting a flagship defense aviation complex and living the country’s high -speed rail network.
The activities of the president are part of his visit during 10 days in China, which started on Friday and focuses on improving bilateral links, including the subsequent development of the Chinese-Pakistani Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In an important demonstration of the close cooperation of the defense of nations, Zardari, constitutionally supreme commander of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, visited the corporation of the Aviation Industry of China (AVIC). This has marked a historic first, because no foreign head of state had already visited the complex.
During the tour, the president reaffirmed that Pakistan and China would continue to extend collaboration in defense production and aviation, further deepening their strategic cooperative partnership.
He underlined the essential role of existing projects, noting that the J-10 and JF-17 had considerably strengthened Pakistan Air Force, a clearly demonstrated fact during the “Marka-e-Haq” of May 2025 and “Operation Bunyanum Marsoos”.
He was informed of the advanced capacities of Avic, including the J-10C J-10C fighter plane which played a crucial role during the recent conflict with India, the co-production of the JF-17 Thunder, as well as progress in the 5th generation J-20 hunting planes.
The president was also informed of unmanned air vehicles (UAV) and integrated command and control systems. Zardari praised Avic as a symbol of the technological advancement of China and the sustainable strategic partnership between the two nations.
Earlier in the day, the president traveled from Chengdu in Mianyang by a high-speed train, covering the trip in about half an hour. During the train trip, he was informed of his operations, his service, his security systems and his environmental advantages.
Managers have stressed that China now operates the largest high -speed rail network in the world of more than 45,000 kilometers of dedicated track, transporting more than 2 billion passengers per year with trains reaching up to 350 km / h.
The President praised China’s achievements in sustainable and resilient transport, in particular electrical propulsion without pollution and early alert technologies of earthquakes, describing them as a marvel of rail engineering.
He noted that such innovations offered precious lessons for other countries, including Pakistan. President Zardari later arrived in Shanghai on Sunday evening, where he was warmly received by Chinese officials.
The Pakistani-Chinese relationship, established in 1950 and described as a “all-seasons strategic cooperative partnership”, is also a major economic channel; The volume of bilateral trade exceeded $ 23 billion in 2024.
China has become the largest weapon supplier in Pakistan, and the progress of this partnership, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project of $ 64 billion, is at the center of the president’s visit, which will continue in Xinjiang.
The president was accompanied throughout the events of the day by a delegation, notably the president of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the first lady Asefa Bhutto Zardari, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and the ambassadors of the two nations.
