Dar heads to China to co-chair seventh foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar departed for Beijing to co-chair, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the seventh Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue. The event is to be held on January 4.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated that Dar is the first foreign dignitary to visit China in 2026, at Yi’s invitation.

The post goes on to read that “the dialogue will review the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation, identify new areas of partnership, and further advance the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Pakistan and China.”

The Foreign Office, in a curtain-raiser published on 31 December, 2025, described the strategic dialogue as “the highest consultative mechanism between Pakistan and China”.

According to the statement, Dar’s visit “forms an important part of the regular high-level exchanges between the two countries”. The curtain raiser also clarified that the visit is meant to reaffirm Pakistan and China’s “mutual commitment to regional peace, stability, and sustainable development.”

The two nations, or the “iron brothers”, established diplomatic relations in 1951, making Pakistan one of the first countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China. The neighbours now prepare to mark 75 years of relations amid shifting dynamics on the regional and global stages.

Ties between the two have evolved over the years into a comprehensive strategic partnership underpinned by political trust, defence cooperation, and economic engagement.