Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang started a two-day visit to Pakistan on Friday where he met with Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi.
A statement from the President’s office said the two sides emphasized the need to further advance and deepen bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, culture and defense for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
On Saturday, Qin will co-chair the 4th round of the Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue along with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will also attend.
Pakistan and China vowed to strengthen bilateral relations, jointly accelerate the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and deepen cooperation in the fields including agriculture, connectivity and information technology.
Alvi said that Pakistan will spare no effort in securing the safety of Chinese nationals and organizations in the country and is willing to push for peace and reconstruction of Afghanistan along with China, Alvi said.
The Chinese side is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with the Pakistani side on the Afghan issue in order to promote the peace and reconstruction process in Afghanistan and contribute to regional stability and development, Qin said.
Qin said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, noting that consolidating and enhancing the bilateral ironclad friendship has been the priority for the successive governments of the two countries.
China stands ready to work with Pakistan to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), accelerate the CPEC construction, deepen cooperation in fields such as industry, agriculture, information technology, and disaster prevention and mitigation, and help Pakistan restore its economy and improve people’s livelihood, the Chinese foreign minister said.
He said China and Pakistan should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, adding that China encourages more outstanding Pakistani students to study in China.
