BEIJING, September 2: Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time on Tuesday, joining Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in high-level talks on bilateral and regional cooperation.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin. Munir, who accompanied Sharif as part of Pakistan’s delegation, will also attend a grand parade of the Chinese army on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
This was Munir’s first interaction with Xi since assuming the rank of Field Marshal. During his maiden visit to China in July, he had met Vice President Han Zheng but not the Chinese president, in contrast to his predecessor General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who engaged directly with Xi.
The talks underscored the deepening Pakistan-China partnership, with both sides reaffirming cooperation in regional security and development under the SCO framework.