China’s Premier Li begins Pakistan visit amid rare strains in relations
Voice of America
Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrives at the Noor Khan military airbase near Islamabad, where he is greeted by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Oct 14, 2024. (Courtesy: Prime Minister Sharif's office) Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif greets Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Noor Khan military airbase near Islamabad on Oct 14, 2024. (Courtesy: Prime Minister Sharif's office) FILE - Pakistani laborers walk through the Gwadar, Pakistan, port on Oct. 4, 2017.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang began a four-day visit to Pakistan on Monday under tight security for bilateral talks and to attend the heads of government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) hosted in Islamabad this week. Pakistan is on high alert after a recent increase in deadly insurgent attacks nationwide, including a suicide car bomb attack in Karachi last week that targeted a Chinese convoy and resulted in the deaths of two Chinese engineers.
Officials from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and China pose for a photo before the six-country informal consultation to discuss ways to address shared concerns, in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 19, 2024. Participants attend an informal consultation among ASEAN member states on Myanmar in Bangkok, Dec. 20, 2024.
Myanmar's army-appointed Foreign Minister Than Swe attends a six-country informal consultation on the situation in Myanmar, in Bangkok, Dec. 19, 2024. (Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via Reuters) Group picture taken before a six-country informal consultation on the situation in Myanmar, in Bangkok, Dec. 19, 2024. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via Reuters) FILE - Gen. Min Aung Hlaing inspects officers during a parade to commemorate Myanmar's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2023. Thailand's Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa looks on during a press conference following a 6-Country informal consultation, comprising Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand on the situation in Myanmar, in Bangkok, Dec. 19, 2024.
FILE - Elon Musk arrives before a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, July 24, 2024. Musk called the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) the country's savior. FILE - Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, holds a bouquet of flowers she was given by party co-leader Tino Chrupalla during a press conference on Dec. 7, 2024 in Berlin,