Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

When asked to share the details about Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's upcoming visit to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Thursday that today marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's upcoming official visit is an important high-level exchange as we mark the 75th anniversary, Guo said.

During the visit, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang will meet and hold talks with him respectively. They will have in-depth exchanges of views on China-Pakistan relations and issues of mutual interest to chart the course forward for bilateral ties in new circumstances, Guo said, adding that besides, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend a reception celebrating the 75th anniversary and visit Zhejiang Province.

China and Pakistan are good friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Over the past 75 years, China-Pakistan relations have withstood various tests and stood rock solid, setting a shining example for state-to-state relations, Guo said.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of leaders of the two countries, we have had frequent high-level exchanges, made solid progress in practical cooperation, and achieved fruitful outcomes in high-quality cooperation on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Guo added.

The two sides maintain close communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, which helps us to safeguard common interests and advance peace, stability and development in the region, said the spokesperson. 

China hopes that both sides will take the upcoming visit as an opportunity to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen cooperation across the board, and write a new chapter in building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, Guo said.

The visit had earlier been announced by Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar earlier in May. According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, Dar said Pakistan and China were taking "another significant step towards innovation, digital connectivity and the economy of the future as our partnership enters a new phase in the digital age."

Dar also emphasized that the friendship between the two countries was "not ordinary diplomacy," according to the Dawn. "It is a relationship tested by time and strengthened by trust […] from the Karakoram Highway, carved through some of the most difficult terrain in the world, to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which transformed Pakistan's energy and connectivity landscape," he was quoted as saying.

The report noted that Sharif's upcoming visit follows Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's five-day visit to China earlier in May. It also pointed out that Sharif last visited China in September 2025 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

A Chinese analyst said the visit is expected to inject fresh momentum into bilateral cooperation at a milestone moment in China-Pakistan relations.

"China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, and Chinese side attaches high importance to ties with Pakistan," Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"As the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Prime Minister Sharif's visit is expected to further deepen and solidify bilateral ties," Qian said.

Qian noted that Sharif's itinerary in Zhejiang Province also carries important economic significance. Zhejiang, one of China's most dynamic hubs for private-sector development, has seen extensive investment and business engagement in Pakistan, he said.

"The visit sends a signal that Pakistan welcomes more Chinese private enterprises to expand into the Pakistani market and jointly inject new momentum into bilateral economic cooperation," Qian said.

He added that Sharif's planned engagements beyond Beijing reflect Pakistan's intention to deepen people-to-people exchanges with more Chinese provinces and strengthen public support for broader bilateral cooperation.

"Such arrangements will help enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples and facilitate cooperation across various fields," Qian said.