President Asif Ali Zardari reaffirmed on Sunday that Pakistan and China would continue to expand collaboration in defence production and aviation, further deepening their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, according to a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat.
Zardari, who is on a 10-day trip[1] to China, asserted this during a visit to the the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) — the country’s aerospace and defence conglomerate engaged in the design and production of a wide range of military and civilian aircraft, including J-10C fighter jets that Pakistan employed[2] during an escalation with India[3] in May.
The use of these aircraft is said to have played a crucial role[4] in shooting down India’s fighter jets, including Rafales, during the four-day escalation that ended with a ceasefire on May 10[5].
The statement by the President’s Secretariat today said: “On the 128th day since the ceasefire with India, President Asif Ali Zardari, constitutionally the supreme commander of the armed forces of Pakistan, visited the Aviation Industry Corporation of China”.
According to the statement, the president toured the sprawling complex in its entirety and met the AVIC’s engineers and scientists, “listening to their insights on innovation, production and future technologies”.
He was briefed on the AVIC’s “advanced capabilities, including the J-10 fighter jet, the co-production of the JF-17 Thunder with Pakistan, as well as progress in the J-20 stealth 5th-generation fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, fully automated units, and integrated command-and-control systems for modern multi-domain operations”.
The statement quoted the president as saying that “J-10 and JF-17 have greatly strengthened the Pakistan Air Force, a fact clearly demonstrated during May 2025’s Maraka-e-Haq and Operation Bunyanum Marsoos”.
He hailed the AVIC as “a symbol of China’s technological advancement and of the enduring strategic partnership between Pakistan and China”.
The statement said Zardari’s visit to the facility was also historic as “no foreign head of state had previously visited the AVIC complex”.
Zardari was accompanied by his son PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his daughter MNA Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi and China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, who will be travelling with the president throughout the visit, it added.
The president later arrived in Shanghai. On his arrival at the airport, the president was warmly received by Chen Qun, vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Shanghai Committee, and Ma Yinghui, director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipality, according to another statement.
President Zardari reached China[6] on Friday, where he will hold meetings with the Chinese leadership and senior officials to further strengthen Pakistan-China relations, enhance cooperation in diverse fields, and advance shared objectives.
He will also visit Shanghai and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and hold meetings with the leadership there, according to an earlier statement by the Foreign Office.
The discussions will encompass Pakistan-China bilateral relations, with a particular focus on economic and trade cooperation, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and future connectivity initiatives, the statement said, adding that the visit underscores the tradition of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China, reflecting the deep commitment of the two countries to strengthen their relations.
References
- ^ 10-day trip (www.dawn.com)
- ^ employed (www.dawn.com)
- ^ escalation with India (www.dawn.com)
- ^ played a crucial role (www.dawn.com)
- ^ ceasefire on May 10 (www.dawn.com)
- ^ reached China (www.dawn.com)