China promises Pakistan support while Khan talks about "very difficult" economy

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has pledged to support the Pakistani economy on Friday, as Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan has reported on his country's "very difficult" economic situation in the context of the country's financial crisis. nascent financial crisis.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have plunged 42 percent since the beginning of the year and now stand at about $ 8 billion, less than two months of import cover.

Last month, Pakistan received a $ 6 billion rescue package from Saudi Arabia, but officials said it was not enough and that the country is still considering seeking a rescue from the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) to avoid a balance of payments crisis.

This would be the 13th Pakistan bailout by the multilateral lender since the late 1980s.

Meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of Peking People, Mr. Khan said that he would have come to China to learn.

"My party has only been in power for two months. Unfortunately, we inherited a very difficult economic situation, "Khan said.

"Countries go by cycles. They have their strengths, they have their low points. Unfortunately, our country is currently at a low point with two very large deficits, a budget deficit and a current account deficit. And so, as I said, we came to learn. "

Xi told Khan that he attached great importance to the relations between the two countries, reaffirming that they were "all-time" friends.

"I attach great importance to Sino-Pakistani relations and I am willing to work with the Prime Minister to strengthen the Sino-Pakistani strategic partnership all the time and to build a new era of Sino-Pakistani destiny," Xi said. Xi.

Neither of the men mentioned economic aid in speaking to reporters.

However, Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi, top diplomat of the Chinese government, said at a separate meeting to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that China would not drop Pakistan.

"The Chinese side will continue to provide support and help in the best way the economic and social development of Pakistan and the national construction of Pakistan," said Wang, without giving details, quoted by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Khan will meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday, when the two countries are expected to sign a series of agreements.

Although China is Pakistan's closest ally, Khan's newly elected government has tried to rethink the two-nation flagship project, the $ 60 billion Sino-Pakistani economic corridor, Beijing calls it a flagship infrastructure program in its huge belt and roads. Initiative.

Pakistan has made efforts to modify the CPEC program to focus more on social development projects rather than infrastructure projects.

After his visit to Beijing, Mr. Khan will be one of the keynote speakers at a major import fair in Shanghai. China presents this event as an opportunity to show the world that the country welcomes foreign companies and their products.

Khan is in China amid unrest at home following the acquittal of a Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, which prompted an ultra-Islamist party to block the roads in protest.