ISLAMABAD, April 20 -- China and Pakistan decided on Monday to lift bilateral ties to all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here for his first state visit.

The upgrade of bilateral relations came as the two countries were gearing up for an expansion of cooperation in various fields, with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor high on the agenda.

The corridor is a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking southwest Pakistan's deepwater Gwadar Port with northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.