Imran Khan set to visit China this month

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit China later this month, his third this year, to meet the country's top leadership and woo investors, officials sources said.

During the visit, Khan will attend the China-Pakistan Business Forum in Beijing on October 8, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The exact date of the visit has not yet been confirmed. This will be Khan's third visit to China in 2019.

Khan's visit will take place at a time when tensions over Kashmir have spiked between Pakistan and India.

Beijing, the all-weather ally of Islamabad, has backed Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, with its Foreign Minister Wang Yi saying, "No actions that would unilaterally change the status quo should be taken. As a neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China hopes to see the dispute effectively managed and stability restored to the relationship between the two sides."

"The Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement," he said at the United Nations General Assembly session last week.

After being sworn in as prime minister, Khan first visited China in November 2018.

In April 2019, Khan visited Beijing to participate in the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.