President Asif Ali Zardari visited the Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shanghai, accompanied by First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari and Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The Memorial, located in Shanghai’s historic French Concession, preserves the site where the CPC held its founding congress in July 1921. The president toured the original shikumen-style building and the adjoining exhibition hall, which showcases historical relics and documents from the Party’s early days.
The site holds significant historical importance as the location where 13 leaders, including Chairman Mao Zedong, attended the Party’s first Congress 104 years ago. This marked the founding of the Party that would later achieve China’s independence, lift the nation out of poverty and backwardness, and transform it into today’s major military, technological, and economic power.
Writing in the visitors’ book, President Asif Zardari expressed his honor at visiting this historic site where the Communist Party of China was founded. He conveyed the Pakistani people’s respect for China’s journey to becoming a major global power, emphasizing that the friendship between the two nations has been nurtured by President Xi Jinping’s visionary leadership and has grown into a rapidly developing, all-weather partnership. The president affirmed that these historic ties will continue to strengthen and flourish.
President Asif Zardari praised the preservation of the site and noted how it provides valuable insight into the early struggles that shaped modern China. The Memorial stands as a recognized national cultural heritage site and ranks among Shanghai’s leading historical landmarks.
The visit included several other notable attendees: Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Sharjeel Memon (Minister for Information & Transport, Government of Sindh), Syed Nasir Shah (Minister for Planning & Development and Energy, Government of Sindh), China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi.
