Li Changchun (L front), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is welcomed upon his arrival in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Oct. 17, 2012. Li started his official visit to the country on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Li Changchun (2nd L), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (3rd R) attend a launching ceremony of the Dosti Channel FM-98 of China Radio International (CRI), in Islamabad, Pakistan, Oct. 17, 2012. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attend a signing ceremony of bilateral cooperation documents, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Oct. 17, 2012. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Sina English

Senior Chinese leader Li Changchun will pay official goodwill visits to Pakistan, the Maldives and Bangladesh starting on Wednesday.

The visit is also aimed at consolidating and deepening China’s diplomatic and economic ties with South Asian countries.

Huang Huaguang, spokesman for the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the announcement on Tuesday in Beijing.

Li Changchun, publicity chief and also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a central body within the Communist Party, will make the trips at the invitations of the respective governments, he said.

In Pakistan, Li Changchun, leading a high-level delegation, will meet President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss bilateral issues as well as the regional situation.

He will inaugurate China Radio International in Urdu, which aims to increase people-to-people contact and forge cultural bonds at a popular level.

This will add a new dimension to the existing cultural relations between China and Pakistan.

Pakistani officials have attached great importance to the visit by high-level Chinese delegation.

The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is scheduled to begin on November 8 to elect the country’s new leadership.

This high level visit from China will help further strengthen the “all-weather and strategic” friendship between the two countries, said Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Moazzam Ali Khan.

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