Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s landmark visit to China was a great success and has opened up new vistas of cooperation on the economic and strategic fronts.

Addressing a press conference at the Press Information Department (PID) regional office here on Monday, he said Pakistan and China had decided to trade in Chinese yuan instead of the dollar, adding that Pak-China current trade volume was 15 billion dollars and the switch of the US dollar to Chinese yuan would reduce burden on country’s dollar reserves with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The Information minister, dilating on the successes of the PM visit to China, said it was as successful as that of Saudi Arabia in terms of economic and technical support.

He said Pak-China relations had moved beyond the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), adding China had extended currency support, cooperation in agriculture sector and establishment of new industrial zones in the country which would create new jobs and enhance economic activity.

He said Federal Finance Minister Asad Umer and Planning Minister would divulge details of the economic cooperation on their return.

He said Pakistan had signed a historic pact on strategic relations, adding the bilateral relations had existed since the 1960s between the two countries. He said Pak-China strategic relations were decades-old and of great importance. Fawad said cooperation in the space programme was another advance in scientific relations, adding the first Pakistani astronaut would be sent to the space with the help of Chinese Space Programme support in 2022. (APP).