Centre for BRI and China Studies

Pakistan–China Relations Tracker

Pakistan-China relations, anchored for over a decade in CPEC, marked their 75th anniversary in 2026 with a high-level visit cadence — President Zardari and PM Shehbaz Sharif both travelled to China within months of each other — and a formal shift from CPEC's infrastructure-heavy first phase to "CPEC 2.0," oriented toward industrialisation, agriculture and technology. China has been Pakistan's largest trading partner for twelve consecutive years and, per SIPRI, supplied over 80% of Pakistan's arms imports 2021-2024. This is a living reference, revised as new agreements, visits and data are published.

Diplomatic Engagement

2026 marked the 75th anniversary of Pakistan-China diplomatic relations, marked by a dense visit schedule: President Asif Ali Zardari made a five-day state visit to China covering industrial, agricultural and water-desalination cooperation and CPEC 2.0; PM Shehbaz Sharif separately travelled to Hangzhou for what China's Foreign Ministry called an "important high-level exchange," where he and Premier Li Qiang witnessed the signing of multiple MoUs. (Friday Times, Express Tribune)

The 7th round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue (January 2026) agreed to align development priorities and accelerate CPEC 2.0; subnational cooperation has also expanded, including a trade and investment delegation from China's Loudi City. (Express Tribune)

Trade & Investment

China has been Pakistan's top trading partner for twelve consecutive years; bilateral trade exceeded $25 billion in 2025. China supplied 53.2% of Pakistan's total foreign direct investment between July 2025 and February 2026. (INP WealthPK)

Cumulative Chinese investment under CPEC stands at $25.93 billion, credited with over 261,000 jobs, 510km of road infrastructure, 886km of core power-transmission grid, and 8,000+ MW of power generation capacity. (Gwadar Pro)

CPEC 2.0 & Infrastructure

CPEC has formally shifted from an infrastructure-heavy first phase to "CPEC 2.0" — industrialisation, agriculture, technology and private-sector-driven growth. Completed flagship projects include the 1,320MW Sahiwal coal plant, the 1,000MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park (Bahawalpur), the Multan-Sukkur motorway section, and Lahore's Orange Line Metro.

Underway: the 1,124MW Kohala Hydropower Project, the 300MW Gwadar coal-fired power project, continued Gwadar Port expansion (deep-water berths for large cargo/oil vessels), and Gwadar International Airport. (China Briefing)

Security & Defence Cooperation

Pakistan and China hold one of Asia's closest defence partnerships, built on co-production of major weapons systems (notably the JF-17 Thunder) and extensive training exchanges. Per SIPRI data, over 80% of Pakistan's arms imports between 2021-2024 came from China.

The "Warrior-IX" joint counterterrorism exercise ran 28 Nov–14 Dec 2025 at Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Center in Pabbi, covering mixed-group training and live-fire drills; both sides have since reaffirmed plans to deepen cooperation on intelligence-sharing, border security and defence technology. (Arab News, Pakistan Today)