ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has appointed seasoned career diplomat Ali Asad Gilani as its new Ambassador to China, replacing Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, who has completed his three-year tenure in Beijing, in a move aimed at sustaining the momentum in the strategic partnership between Islamabad and Beijing amid deepening political, economic and security cooperation. Highly placed diplomatic sources told The Nation that Gilani, currently serving as Additional Secretary (Asia-Pacific) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been nominated to head one of Pakistan’s most important diplomatic missions.
His appointment comes at a time when Pakistan and China are accelerating work on the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), expanding cooperation in industry, technology, agriculture and regional connectivity. Gilani is regarded as one of Pakistan’s most experienced diplomats on Asian affairs. Before assuming charge of the Asia-Pacific Division, he served as Additional Secretary for West Asia and Afghanistan, where he played an important role in shaping Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement with Gulf countries and addressing regional security and political developments.His diplomatic career also includes serving as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan, where he worked to strengthen bilateral relations, promote trade and investment, and enhance regional connectivity between Central and South Asia. Foreign Office officials described Gilani as a seasoned negotiator with extensive experience in regional diplomacy and multilateral engagement. His expertise in both East and West Asian affairs is expected to help further strengthen Pakistan’s strategic ties with China. The appointment follows the completion of Ambassador Khalil Hashmi’s tenure in Beijing, during which Pakistan-China relations witnessed significant progress across multiple sectors, including economic cooperation under CPEC, defence collaboration, high-level political exchanges, and coordination on regional and international issues. As Pakistan’s envoy in Beijing, Gilani is expected to focus on expanding bilateral trade, attracting greater Chinese investment, ensuring timely implementation of CPEC projects, and enhancing cooperation in emerging sectors such as information technology, green energy, agriculture and artificial intelligence. China remains Pakistan’s largest strategic partner and one of its biggest sources of foreign investment.
The new ambassador will also play a key role in coordinating high-level exchanges and advancing cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative while promoting people-to-people contacts and educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Diplomatic observers believe Gilani’s appointment reflects Islamabad’s emphasis on assigning experienced career diplomats to strategically important capitals as Pakistan seeks to further deepen its “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” with China amid evolving regional and global geopolitical dynamics.
