- Zardari becomes first foreign Head of State to tour AVIC facility.
- Zardari briefed on J-10, JF-17, and J-20 fighters.
- Lauds AVIC as symbol of China’s technological advancement.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday reaffirmed that Pakistan and China would continue to expand collaboration in defence production and aviation, further deepening their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.
He made these remarks during his visit to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) — China’s flagship aerospace and defence conglomerate engaged in the design and production of a wide range of military and civilian aircraft.
His visit came on the 128th day since the ceasefire with India — brokered by the United States following four-day armed conflict in the wake of terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam area.
His visit also marked a historic first, as no foreign head of state had previously visited the AVIC complex.
During the visit to AVIC, the president was accompanied by Pakistan Peoples Party (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, who is travelling with the president throughout the visit.
He said the J-10 and JF-17 had greatly strengthened Pakistan Air Force, a fact clearly demonstrated during Ma‘raka-e-Haq and Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos — launched against Indian aggression.
Zardari toured the sprawling complex in its entirety, which produces the J-10C fighter jet that played a crucial role during the recent conflict.
He also met AVIC’s engineers and scientists, listening to their insights on innovation, production and future technologies.
President Zardari was briefed on AVIC’s advanced capabilities, including the J-10 fighter jet, the co-production of the JF-17 Thunder with Pakistan, as well as progress in the J-20 stealth 5th-generation fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, fully automated units, and integrated command-and-control systems for modern multi-domain operations.
He lauded AVIC as a symbol of China’s technological advancement and of the enduring strategic partnership between Pakistan and China.
Zardari lauds China’s achievements in transport
Separately, President Zardari travelled from Chengdu to Mianyang by a high-speed train, covering the journey in around half an hour.
During the journey, the president was briefed on the train’s operations, service, safety systems and environmental advantages, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release.
The president praised China’s achievements in sustainable and resilient transport, including pollution-free electric propulsion and earthquake early warning technologies, describing them as a marvel of railway engineering. He noted that such innovations offered valuable lessons for other countries including Pakistan.
The officials highlighted that China now operated the world’s largest high-speed rail network of over 45,000 km of dedicated track, carrying more than 2 billion passengers annually.
With trains running at up to 350 km/h, the network linked almost all major Chinese cities. China has built a standardised, dedicated passenger system that became a model of modern connectivity, it was added.
