Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with Wang Hao, the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee Secretary, in Hangzhou and lauded Zhejiang's remarkable development achievements while endorsing Xi Jinping's ecological governance concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. The PM highlighted Zhejiang's model as a practical example of how ecological conservation, green development, and high-quality economic growth can reinforce each other, aligning with Pakistan's own aspirations for sustainable progress. He emphasized Pakistan's strong interest in deeper cooperation with Zhejiang across digital economy, e-commerce, information technology, telecommunications, agriculture, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and skills development, arguing that provincial collaboration is a key pillar of Pakistan-China relations and could play a pivotal role in advancing CPEC Phase II through industrial cooperation, agricultural modernization, technology collaboration, and export-oriented development. The visit culminated in the signing of two cooperation documents: a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a sister-province relationship between Zhejiang Province and Punjab Province to promote trade, investment, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges; and a Document of Understanding between Hangzhou Normal University and the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing to establish the China-Pakistan Joint Technology Research Centre at the university, aimed at fostering academic collaboration, applied research, technology exchange and institutional linkages. The PM noted that as Pakistan and China mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, both nations are entering a more practical, people-centric and development-oriented phase of cooperation. In my view, this visit signals a strategic deepening of ties at the provincial level, leveraging Zhejiang’s green-growth and digital strengths to advance CPEC Phase II. Realizing the potential will require transparent governance, credible investment, and robust participation from local stakeholders, but if managed well, the sister-province framework and the tech centre could broaden economic benefits while strengthening people-to-people ties, contributing to shared prosperity.
Source: Statement from @GovtofPakistan
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Published: May 23, 2026, 6:29 am
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