Pakistan prime minister signs $8.5 billion in investment deals with China

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan signed $8.5 billion in new investment agreements with China during a visit to Beijing by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan's state media reported Friday.

The accords finalized Thursday in the Chinese capital city include $7 billion in a memoranda of understanding and $1.5 billion in joint ventures covering agriculture, renewable energy, electric vehicles, health, steel and other sectors.

Sharif travelled to Beijing this week for the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and met with Chinese leaders on the sidelines.

Sharif unveiled the next phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor at the conference, vowing to cut bureaucratic hurdles to speed up projects. In televised remarks, he assured Chinese investors that his government would enhance security for their workers.

CPEC includes building and improving roads and rail systems to link western China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian sea. It is part of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative to increase trade by building infrastructure around the world.

Thousands of Chinese work in Pakistan on CPEC-linked projects. Some have been targeted in attacks by Baloch separatists and Pakistani Taliban militants, prompting repeated calls from Beijing for stronger protections.