Pakistan PM Sharif to visit China May 23 to May 26
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China has played a quieter role as a mediator in the Middle East conflict, shepherding phone calls and meetings with officials of affected Gulf countries.
PHOTO: EPA
BEIJING – Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Beijing from May 23 to May 26 for talks, the Chinese foreign ministry said, without specifying whether the war in Iran would be discussed.
Pakistan and China have both sought to mediate in the Middle East conflict, sparked by US and Israeli strikes.
A ceasefire agreement since April 8 has halted hostilities, but US President Donald Trump warned on May 20 that the window for diplomacy was closing.
“The leaders of China and Pakistan will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern,” Chinese ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference on May 21.
Mr Guo added that China would work with Pakistan to “make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East”.
“China supports Pakistan in playing a fair and balanced mediating role in promoting peace and ending the war,” he said.
Pakistan has emerged as a central mediator between the US and Iran, hosting talks in April.
Its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was due in Tehran on May 21, Iranian media reported.
China has played a quieter role, shepherding phone calls and meetings with officials of affected Gulf countries.
After high-profile talks with Mr Xi in Beijing last week, Mr Trump told Fox News the Chinese leader had offered China’s help to open the Hormuz Strait – the key oil route largely blocked since the war erupted.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi urged Islamabad in May to “step up mediation efforts” in the Middle East, speaking to his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in a call.
In the past two weeks, Bejing has hosted visits from Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AFP
