PM Shehbaz hails ‘historic’ Pakistan-China ties in meeting with Chinese business delegation
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met a high-level 11-member Chinese business delegation led by Qian Xiaojun, founder, president and controlling shareholder of IBI Beijing United Technology, at the prime minister’s house.
According to the statement by the prime minister’s office (PMO), PM Shehbaz welcomed the delegation to Pakistan. He said Pakistan and China enjoyed “historic ties” and the two countries were “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partners”. He lauded the remarkable progress made by China under the “visionary leadership” of President Xi Jinping and said that he was looking forward to his visit to China later this month.
The prime minister appreciated the IBI Group’s decision to establish its “Pakistan digital economy headquarters” in Pakistan and expressed satisfaction over growing business-level cooperation between Pakistan and China.
Islamabad : 15 May 2026.
A high-level 11-member Chinese business delegation led by Mr. Qian Xiaojun, Founder, President & Controlling Shareholder of IBI Beijing United Technology called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House.
While welcoming… pic.twitter.com/VLlwJYkoDr
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) May 15, 2026
He said it was encouraging that IBI would promote cooperation in the digital economy, investment promotion and industrial collaboration and expressed confidence in Pakistan’s economy. Qian said IBI hopes to help build a digital backbone for the digital transformation of Pakistan’s economy.
He said the establishment of IBI’s digital economy headquarters in Pakistan would be a command centre for this transformation and would create numerous opportunities for Pakistan’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing them access to the Chinese market.
The delegation was visiting Pakistan as a follow-up to the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference held in Beijing in September 2025 during the Prime Minister’s visit, according to the PMO office.
Federal Minister for Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Special Assistant on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar, Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
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A day earlier, PM Shehbaz welcomed visiting Azerbaijan’s Justice Minister Farid Turab Oglu Ahmadov and said relations between Pakistan and Azerbaijan were growing stronger with each passing day.
During the meeting, PM described Pakistan and Azerbaijan as “brotherly countries” and conveyed his greetings to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, recalling their telephone conversation earlier this week.
Ahmadov thanked Pakistan for the warmth and hospitality extended to him and briefed the prime minister on ongoing cooperation between the two countries in the legal and judicial sectors.Read More
