China-Pakistan ties could be better under Shehbaz Sharif than Imran Khan, says report

The possibility of Shehbaz Sharif becoming next prime minister of Pakistan may be better for China-Pakistan ties, a 'Global Times' report said on Sunday.

The change in guard seems to have been welcomed by the state-run daily. The all-weather ties between China and Pakistan "could be better than under Khan", it said, while saying about the scenario if Sharif becomes PM.

The write-up in the daily, which is regarded as Chinese official media, said that a new Pakistan government may get formed under Shehbaz when Parliament reconvenes to vote for a new PM on Monday.

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"Chinese and Pakistani analysts consider that the solid China-Pakistan relations will not be affected by the internal political change in Pakistan because to safeguard and develop the bilateral ties is the joint consensus of all parties and all groups in Pakistan," it said.

"The potential successor of Khan is from the Sharif family, which has been promoting China-Pakistan ties for a long time, and cooperation between the two countries could be even better than under Khan," it said.

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The close ties between the two nations were better under traditional political parties, it added.

"Khan is from a newly rising political party, and when traditional major political parties like the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) or the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) return to power, China-Pakistan cooperation could be even better because these traditional major parties have much closer and deeper ties with China," Qian Feng, director, research department, National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University told the daily.

(With inputs from agencies)