President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday travelled from the Chinese city of Chengdu to Mianyang by a high-speed train, covering the journey in around half an hour.

During the journey, the president was briefed on the train’s operations, service, safety systems and environmental advantages, the President’s Secretariat said in a statement.

The president was accompanied by Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, who is travelling with the president throughout his visit, and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla.

The president praised China’s achievements in sustainable and resilient transport, including pollution-free electric propulsion and earthquake early warning technologies, describing them as a marvel of railway engineering.

He noted that such innovations offered valuable lessons for other countries, including Pakistan.

The officials highlighted that China now operates the world’s largest high-speed rail network of over 45,000 km of dedicated track, carrying more than 2 billion passengers annually.

With trains running at up to 350 km/h, the network links almost all major Chinese cities.

China has built a standardised, dedicated passenger system that became a model of modern connectivity, it was added.

Earlier, on arrival, the president was received by Wu Hao, Vice Mayor of Mianyang.