BEIJING: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to expanding defence and aviation collaboration with China, underscoring the strength of the all-weather strategic partnership between the two countries.
The president made the remarks during his visit to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country’s leading aerospace and defence conglomerate. His visit marked a historic milestone, as he became the first foreign head of state to tour the AVIC facility.
Accompanied by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, First Lady Aseefa Bhutto, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi, and China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, President Zardari received a comprehensive briefing on AVIC’s advanced platforms, including the J-10C, JF-17 Thunder, and the J-20 stealth fighter.
Zardari lauded the J-10 and JF-17 jets for greatly enhancing the operational capabilities of the Pakistan Air Force, highlighting their proven role in Ma‘raka-e-Haq and Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, conducted against Indian aggression earlier this year.
He toured AVIC’s sprawling production facilities and interacted with engineers and scientists, commending their work in developing cutting-edge technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, automated production units, and integrated command-and-control systems.
“AVIC stands as a symbol of China’s technological progress and the deep-rooted strategic partnership between Pakistan and China,” President Zardari remarked, stressing that Islamabad and Beijing would continue to broaden cooperation in defence production and aviation.
