Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal reached on Wednesday China to mark the first high-level foreign visit following the formation of the new government.

According to the details, Iqbal was flanked by SAPM Tariq Fatemi. The planning was welcomed by Pakistan's ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, at Beijing Airport.

Meanwhile, expressing his thoughts, Iqbal said: "China is a historical friend of Pakistan, who has extended support through thick and thin."

Underscoring the importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Iqbal said: "The completion of the projects worth $25 billion is underway under the umbrella of the CPEC."

"We will promote agriculture, industries, green energy, and technology in CPEC Phase II," he added.

"In the first phase of the CPEC, the power and infrastructure sectors were upgraded," Iqbal said.

– Pakistan needs to move ahead of China to complete CPEC: Iqbal –

Earlier on Tuesday, Iqbal said that Pakistan will have to move ahead of China to complete the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.

According to details, Iqbal chaired a meeting to review the preparations of the visit to China. Expressing his thoughts, Iqbal said: "It will be the key agenda to ensure the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) phase II during the visit to China".

Stressing the need for having a "vision" to uplift the country, Iqbal said: "We will have to come up with strong planning to pave the way for the opportunities in the region."

He underlined the importance of the completion of the ML-1 project, saying: "ML-1 project will also be on the agenda during the visit to China. We will have to suffer from more incidents if working on the ML-1 project is not started."

"ML-1 project is quite important for empowering the communication and trade sectors," he maintained.