Bejing: China has once again appreciated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s maiden official visit to China and termed the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership very significant.
In a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Thursday said that Prime Minister Shehbaz’s visit to China was also the first by a head of government after the 20th CPC National Congress. He said that upon his arrival, PM Shehbaz was received with “premium courtesy”.
PM Shehbaz lands in Beijing, gets red carpet welcome
During his visit, PM Shehabz held meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Chairman Li Zhanshu of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, among others.
PM Shehbaz, President Xi agree to strengthen cooperation on CPEC, strategic partnership
PM Shehbaz’s meeting with President Xi Jinping was the second meeting in less than two months and provided strategic guidance for the future advancement of China-Pakistan relations. He had earlier met President Xi during the SCO summit in Uzbekistan in September.
Zhao said that President Xi shared with PM Shehbaz the important outcomes of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and noted that China is “committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world” and will create “new opportunities for Pakistan and the rest of the world with China’s own development”.
PM Shehbaz expressed his heartiest congratulations on behalf of the Pakistani government and people to President Xi on his re-election as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. He also expressed his confidence that President Xi, with his extraordinary vision, will continue to lead China toward even more remarkable achievements and create an even brighter future for the world.
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On China-Pakistan relations
The two leaders had an in-depth exchange of views on China-Pakistan relations and the international and regional situations. Zhao said that the China-Pakistan friendship is time-tested and rock-solid, and, amid mounting global challenges, the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has demonstrated significance.
“The two sides will jointly respond to changes and uncertainties and speed up efforts to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era,” he added.
On developmental strategies
During the meeting, the two leaders also agreed to deepen synergy between their development strategies, share development opportunities, advance the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with greater efficiency, and make it an exemplar of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.
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Pakistan also reaffirmed its commitment to fully protecting the security of Chinese individuals, projects, and institutions in Pakistan.
The spokesperson said that the two sides will start pilot projects to implement the initiatives and make positive contributions to global governance.
“During the visit, the two sides issued a joint statement and signed 21 cooperation documents concerning e-commerce, digital economy, post-disaster reconstruction, exports to China, livelihoods, the Global Development Initiative, and law-enforcement and security,” he further said.
