Asian leaders on high-profile visits to China

Beijing commits to strengthening ties, sharing development opportunities

China started to welcome a series of high-profile visits by leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Brunei and Thailand on Tuesday, reaffirming Beijing's commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and sharing its development opportunities.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov kicked off a four-day state visit to China on Tuesday, a trip deemed crucial for advancing bilateral relations and regional cooperation.

In a written interview with Xinhua News Agency, Japarov emphasized that deepening cooperation with China in various fields remains "a top priority" for Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy.

He highlighted the official launch of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project in December as a key achievement under the Belt and Road Initiative that is expected to boost bilateral cooperation.

For many years, China has been Kyrgyzstan's largest trading partner and a major investor. Japarov expressed confidence that China's modernization efforts would bring new opportunities not only to Kyrgyzstan but also to the entire Central Asian region.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's five-day state visit to China, also starting on Tuesday, is expected to reaffirm deep-rooted ties between the two nations.

The visit is the first of its kind since Zardari assumed office in March and also coincides with the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping's historic visit to Pakistan in 2015.The Pakistani Foreign Ministry described the visit as a continuation of the long-standing tradition of high-level exchanges, demonstrating both countries' deep commitment to strengthening their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

Discussions between the leaders of the two countries will cover a wide range of topics, with a particular focus on economic and trade cooperation, counterterrorism, security collaboration and progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of the BRI.

In a signed article in Pakistani mainstream media, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong said the visit holds great significance in charting the course for China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperation.

It presents an opportunity to deepen exchanges of governance experience and mutual learning between civilizations, promote the alignment of development concepts and coordination of policy, and make new contributions to an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, he said.

On Wednesday, Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah will begin a three-day state visit to China, aiming to reinforce bilateral relations and expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

High-level exchanges between China and Brunei have been frequent in recent years. During President Xi's state visit to the Southeast Asian nation in 2018, the two leaders elevated the bilateral relationship to a strategic cooperative partnership.

The sultan had visited China or attended international conferences in the country 12 times, with his most recent visit in 2019 for the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will make an official visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday, marking her first trip to Beijing since taking up the post in August.

"Prime Minister Paetongtarn's official visit marks the beginning of the Golden Jubilee year for Thailand-China Friendship in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations," said the Thai Foreign Ministry.

"It will also reaffirm political commitment to advancing shared goals of promoting the safety and well-being, as well as future-readiness of the two peoples, while deepening understanding and cooperation between them," it added.

During the visit, Paetongtarn will hold talks with the Chinese leadership and also meet with business executives from both countries to further strengthen economic partnership.

China is Thailand's largest trading partner, while Thailand ranks as China's third-largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.