On his first visit to China after assuming office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday said he is visiting Beijing with “serious plans” to deepen the all-weather ties amid China’s concerns over deadly terror attacks on its nationals in Pakistan and deepening political and economic crisis undermining its stability.“Landed in Shenzhen on the first leg of my official visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese leadership,” Sharif posted on X as he arrived in the southern Chinese city as part of his five-day official visit to China.

Sharif wrote that he was looking forward to my engagements with the provincial authorities, the business community and industry giants here before proceeding to Beijing for official talks with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and other Chinese leaders and senior officials.

“We are coming with serious plans to make our friendship become much higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the deepest ocean of the world,” Sharif said as he left for China to further bolster bilateral ties and to launch the second phase of the multi-billion dollar CPEC projects in his country.

Sharif will be in China from June 4 to 8 at the invitation of President Xi.

His visit also coincides with the end of the general elections in India, which both view as a strategic rival and the advent of the new government in New Delhi.

The 72-year-old leader embarked on his first visit to China after he took over as prime minister for the second term after his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party-led coalition government assumed power in March.

He is due to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday and is set to hold talks with President Xi to seek more investments and aid to shore up Pakistan’s deteriorating economic situation.

Pakistan considers China as one of the most trusted friends around the globe, Sharif told Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency in an interview stating that besides being iron brothers, unshakable friendship, “our hearts beat together”.

Ahead of his visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that during the trip both Xi and Sharif will “jointly draw a blueprint”, without providing any details.

China which according to reports has spent about USD 28 billion in the estimated over USD 62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) since it was started in 2013 is increasingly wary of committing itself to more investments in much talked about its second phase in view of the deteriorating security, political and economic crisis in Pakistan.

The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments across the world.

“Envisaged over a decade ago, CPEC has been touted as a ‘game changer’ by the state, while critics have termed it a ‘debt trap’,” an editorial in Pakistan daily Dawn said on Tuesday on Sharif’s visit to Beijing.

While the CPEC has been “beneficial to Pakistan, bringing online a number of power projects, as well as expanding the road network…Yet many promises remain unfulfilled”, it said.

“For example, the special economic zones have yet to open for business, while Pakistan is saddled with billions in Chinese debt. Therefore, Prime Minister Sharif’s visit presents an opportunity to address these challenges,” it said. Ahead of Sharif’s visit, reports in Pakistan media said China is now pressing Pakistan to launch massive military operations to crack down on militant groups attacking Chinese personnel working on scores of CPEC projects. Pakistan said it has committed 12,000 troops to protect hundreds of Chinese workers.

The latest was the March suicide attack in Dasu in which five Chinese nationals and a Pakistan driver was killed. Pakistan paid USD 2.58 million as compensation to the families of those killed in the attack.

The Dawn editorial said Pakistan should also be mentally prepared to deal with the geopolitical blowback of expanding CPEC, “particularly ‘feedback’ from Western capitals unhappy about deepening Sino-Pakistan ties”.

“It is difficult but possible to maintain an equilibrium between the West and China,” it said.

In an interview with Chinese media, Sharif said that Pakistan and China are “two iron brothers, our friendship is unshakable and our hearts beat together.”

“Despite the hot weather, it still doesn’t match the warmth of our hearts,” the prime minister said.

He asserted that China has supported Pakistan through the difficult times, and Islamabad considers Beijing as one of the “most trusted friends” around the globe.

Sharif said that on his first visit to China about 40 years ago, he noticed that though underdeveloped, the country was dedicated to meeting the basic needs of its people while vigorously developing modern science and technology.

He said that Pakistan is also ready to learn from China’s governance experience, deepen reforms and counter-corruption, create enabling circumstances for Chinese investors, and provide policy support for investors, focusing on fields that can benefit both peoples to modernise the economy, he was quoted as saying.

Sharif said that under Xi’s leadership, China has alleviated millions of its people out of poverty. He added that one of the agenda items for his visit is to learn from the Chinese model about how to alleviate poverty in Pakistan and help people stand on their own feet.

Cash-strapped Pakistan’s economy is facing severe headwinds, and it has formally requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the next bailout package between USD 6 and USD 8 billion with the possibility of augmentation through climate financing.

On Monday, the Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, said that under Sharif and Xi’s guidance and strong support from the people of both countries, Sharif’s visit to China would achieve complete success and become a milestone in the development of China-Pakistan relations.

Highlighting the various components of the visit, he said the prime minister would meet and also have talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Zhao Leji.

India firmly opposes the CPEC, which will link Xinjiang in China and the Gwadar port in Pakistan because it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

To advance economic ties between the two countries, the prime minister will meet with corporate executives of leading Chinese companies dealing in oil and gas, energy, ICT (Information and Communications Technology), and emerging technologies, the report said.

The talks will be held to enhance cooperation in security and defence, energy, space, science and technology, and education sectors, it said.

Sharif will address the China-Pakistan Business Forum in Shenzhen with leading businesspersons, entrepreneurs, and investors from both countries. He will also visit the Economic and Agricultural Zones in China, it said. P