Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met with Hainan Party Secretary Feng Fei on Thursday in Sanya to push for expanded trade and investment between Pakistan and the southern Chinese province, as both countries marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Zardari praised Hainan's transformation into a global trade and investment gateway. He called for stronger ties in tourism, high-tech industry, and tropical agriculture, and urged greater collaboration between Hainan's enterprises and Pakistan's industrial and export sectors.

Zardari said that friendship with China remains the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, reaffirming the two nations' status as All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partners. He noted his family's three-generation connection to China and welcomed anniversary events as a way to open new avenues of cooperation.

Feng welcomed the president and his delegation, highlighting Hainan's development as a free trade port. Since island-wide special customs operations launched in December 2025, foreign investment and import values have risen sharply, Feng said, adding that trade between Pakistan and Hainan nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year.

Feng also noted that more than 500 Pakistani students are studying in Hainan's universities and said the president's visit was especially significant during the 75th anniversary year. He pointed to cooperation potential in seed technology, noting that China's largest seed breeding lab, using biotech and artificial intelligence, is based in Hainan.

Zardari expressed Pakistan's interest in port development, seed technology, and fisheries. He cited the participation of Pakistani athletes in the Sixth Asian Beach Games in Sanya, which was held from last Wednesday to this Thursday, as a positive step for people-to-people ties.