Two Pakistani naval ships received a warm welcome upon their arrival at Wusong naval port in Shanghai on Monday morning for a week-long goodwill visit and a two-day Pakistan-China joint naval exercise.

Chinese PLA Navy Senior Colonel Wei Xiaodong personally welcomed Commodore Bilal Abdul Nasir, Pakistan's Commander 25th Destroyer Squadron, at the port.

The two naval ships were built in Shanghai in 2010.

Bilal said the bilateral sea exercise will involve ships, submarines, aircraft, helicopters and special operation forces.

"The main feature of the exercise will be live air and surface firings on fabricated targets. I'm sure such large-scale exercise will enhance the interoperability within the Pakistan navy and the PLA navy," Bilal said.

This is the seventh time Pakistani naval ships visit Shanghai, and Bilal believes this time the large-scale exercise will be a landmark event in the ever-growing relations between the PLA navy and the Pakistani navy.

"The time-tested relations, which are often referred as higher than the Himalayas, deeper than oceans, sweeter than honey, and stronger than steel, are testimonies to the strong bonding between the two countries and their people," Bilal said.

Bilal said many projects in Pakistan are being carried out with the cooperation of China and the foremost one is the Gwadar deep-water port and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will be linking Arabian Sea with the western provinces of China.

"We traveled more than 10,000 km from Pakistan to Shanghai. Once this China-Pakistan economic corridor is completed, the distance will be reduced to 2,800 km," Bilal said.

Abdur Rehman, executive officer of Shamsheer, said it gives them the feeling that they are coming back home.

"The relationship between the two countries is on a very high level and we're here to take it to new heights," Rehman said.

The vessels are on an overseas deployment for visiting South Asia and Southeast Asia.

They docked in Colombo, Male, and Bander Seri before reaching Shanghai. After completing the goodwill mission in China, they plan to go to ports in Ho Chi Minh and Jakarta.