New Delhi, June 4 : Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to embark on a significant four-day state visit to China in early June, tentatively scheduled from 4th to 7th of June.

The visit holds particular importance against the backdrop of Pakistan's ongoing economic challenges, political instability, heightened security concerns, and largely unravelling regional policy.

The two countries, which describe their relationship as an ‘all-weather strategic cooperative partnership’, are anticipated to formally launch the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship component of Beijing’s much ambitious expansive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to reshape the global economic landscape with China at its core.

Yet the visit is majorly seen as a desperate bid by Islamabad to secure fresh financial assistance from China to bolster its critically dwindling sovereign reserves and support for the government's annual budget besides debt restructuring amidst its mounting liabilities owed to China.

This will be Shehbaz Sharif’s first visit to Beijing after assuming power following Pakistan’s controversial February 8 general elections. The visit, initially scheduled for mid-May, faced successive delays despite heightened bilateral engagements throughout the month.

Notably, Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, visited Beijing from May 8-10, followed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar's four-day visit from May 13-16, marking his first bilateral trip to China since assuming office in March. During the visit, Dar co-chaired the fifth round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Islamabad maintained that these ministerial visits aimed to lay the groundwork for the Prime Minister's trip by seeking Beijing’s commitment to expanding the scope of the CPEC project under its second phase.