PM Shehbaz visits historical Chinese museum in Xi'an on President Xi's invitation

XI'AN: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by the Pakistani delegation visited the historical site of China, Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi’an, on Saturday.

The visit was part of an invitation extended by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the prime minister to visit the museum in his hometown, Xi’an.

During the visit the prime minister and the delegation were briefed on the preservation and restoration of historical heritage and the promotion of tourism.

PM Shehbaz, who is on a five-day official visit to China, visited various sections of the museum and commended the beauty of ancient Chinese heritage and the skill of Chinese artisans.

“Great nations protect and take care of their historical assets like the Chinese do”, he said adding that the skill of the Chinese craftsmen of 200 BC was admirable.

The prime minister also appreciated the Chinese government’s efforts in preserving and restoring the historical site saying that Pakistan was also rich in historical and cultural heritage.

He said the government would also restore and promote its own historical sites as tourist destinations. He also thanked President Xi for inviting him to visit the museum.

Federal ministers Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Ataullah Tarar, Dr Musadik Malik, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, and Rana Tanveer Hussain also accompanied the prime minister during the visit.

Yesterday, PM Shehbaz met President Xi at the iconic Great Hall of People in Beijing where they expressed the resolve to further deepen cooperation across diverse domains ranging from political and security to economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges.

The premier wrote on X, “Had the honour of meeting President Xi Jinping at the iconic Great Hall of People in Beijing. We discussed various dimensions of the multi-faceted Pakistan-China relationship and reaffirmed our longstanding and steadfast friendship, All-Weather Strategic cooperation, economic and trade ties, and CPEC.”

“Mutually decided to enhance our economic cooperation through timely completion of ongoing CPEC initiatives as it enters into the next phase with five new corridors. I congratulated him on the success of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum and 10 years of BRI.”

“I underscored that Pakistan would continue to work with China to promote regional connectivity and economic development and to make Gwadar a connectivity hub for the socio-economic development of Pakistan,” added PM Shehbaz.

The premier said President Xi reassured that China would continue supporting Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and development, and would continue supporting the country in harnessing our geo-economic potential as a hub of regional trade and economics.

“I also extended an invitation to President Xi to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience,” he concluded.