June 7, 2024 7:19 PM

Pakistani PM Sharif meets China’s Xi in Beijing ahead of IMF talks

China's President Xi Jinping met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Friday (June 7), Chinese state media reported, days before Pakistan presents its annual budget and applies for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan. Pakistan's location on the Arabian Sea gives it strategic importance for China, providing an overland route out towards the Gulf of Aden and onto the Suez Canal, and enabling Chinese ships to avoid the potential chokepoint of the Malacca Strait. "China w...