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China ready to bolster strategic cooperation with Pakistan, Xi tells PM Sharif

Wednesday, 02 November 2022 6:48 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 November 2022 6:53 PM ]

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, left, speaks with China's President Xi at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on November 2, 2022. (By AFP)

China’s President Xi Jinping says Beijing has always placed Pakistan high on its agenda in its neighborhood diplomacy and is willing to enhance strategic cooperation with the country.

President Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Wednesday.

Xi said the two neighbors should work on the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as well as building the Gwadar seaport in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

President Xi said China will continue to support Pakistan in stabilizing its economy.

Pakistan’s reliance on China for its financial and defense needs has increased over the years. Pakistan owes nearly $30 billion – or 23 percent of its total external debt – to China.

Xi also said he was concerned about the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan. He hoped Pakistan would provide a reliable and safe environment for Chinese institutions and personnel working on cooperation projects there.

Chinese nationals among four killed in bomb attack in Pakistan’s Karachi

A powerful explosion has targeted a vehicle at a major university campus in the southern port city of Karachi, killing at least four people, including three Chinese nationals.

China’s growing presence in Pakistan has coincided with an increase in the number of attacks against Chinese nationals and installations, notably in the country’s restive southern region.

Many of the Chinese infrastructure projects are situated in the resource-rich province of Balochistan, which is also Pakistan’s most impoverished region and home to a long-running armed insurgency and Takfiri militancy.

For his part, Sharif thanked Xi for China’s “invaluable assistance to Pakistan’s relief and rehabilitation work” in the aftermath of recent floods, which killed more than 1,700 people and affected some 33 million.

Sharif said over the past decade, under the leadership of President Xi, China has upheld multilateralism. "The world cannot operate without China, and China's development cannot be isolated or contained by any force."

Sharif also reiterated Pakistan's firm commitment to the ‘One-China’ policy and its firm support for China's position on issues concerning China's core interests including Taipei, Xizang and Hong Kong.

Also on Wednesday, Sharif met his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang.

Relations between Pakistan and China have only grown stronger over the past decade, a period in which Islamabad’s ties with Washington gradually cooled.

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