Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, began a three-day visit to China on Sunday, Pakistan's military said, days after a Pakistani minister stirred unease about Chinese Silk Road projects in the South Asian nation.

Bajwa is the most senior Pakistani figure to visit staunch ally China since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan took office in August, and his trip comes a week after China's top diplomat visited Islamabad.

Pakistan has deepened ties with China in recent years as relations with the United States have frayed.