Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari visited Changsha City in central China's Hunan Province on Sunday and Monday, with a strong focus on boosting bilateral economic and trade ties.
Zardari arrived in China on Saturday for a week-long trip through May 1, with stops in Hunan and Hainan Province in south China.
On Sunday, the Pakistani president visited major companies, including the heavy equipment manufacturing company SANY Group and Hunan Tea Group, looking to expand cooperation in infrastructure and agriculture.
At SANY, Zardari was shown unmanned counterbalanced forklifts and other high-tech equipment.
At Hunan Tea Group, he alluded to the shared tea culture between the two countries and called for closer cooperation to support Pakistan's agricultural modernization.
The Pakistani president also awarded the Sitara-i-Pakistan, a high-level civil award in Pakistan, to Chinese doctor Pan Xiangbin, who led his team to perform life-saving heart surgeries on Pakistani children in 2025.
Also on Sunday, Zardari witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding between China and Pakistan, covering areas including seawater desalination, agriculture, and people-to-people exchanges.
On Monday, Zardari traveled to Shaoshan, the hometown of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, where he laid a wreath and visited Mao's memorial hall and former residence.
Zardari's China trip takes place as the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.
Pakistani president visits China's Hunan, eyeing closer bilateral ties
China's top legislature started a standing committee session in Beijing on Monday.
During the session, which is scheduled to run till Thursday, deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) will continue to work on draft revisions to the Prison Law and begin reviewing revisions to several other laws.
Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session's first plenary meeting on Monday.
The NPC Standing Committee on Monday advanced a draft revision to the Prison Law for a third reading, moving a step closer to adopting changes designed to strengthen inmate rehabilitation and facilitate reintegration into society. The draft revision aims to promote professional, science-based and collaborative approaches to inmate rehabilitation and prison education.
A draft law on social assistance was submitted to the session for its third reading. The draft law aims at strengthening basic living support and building a stronger safety net for vulnerable groups. It calls for optimizing procedures based on practical needs and improving accessibility and convenience for the public.
A draft healthcare security law, which proposes improving the maternity insurance system and expanding its coverage, is under a second deliberation at the session.
Draft revisions to the Law on State-Owned Assets of Enterprises, the Agriculture Law, the National Defense Mobilization Law, and the Water Law were submitted for initial reviews on Monday.
Reports concerning environmental protection, state-owned assets management, and lawmakers' qualifications, as well as proposals regarding appointments or removals, were also reviewed.
China's top legislature starts standing committee session
