| Chinese Envoy meets Shehbaz
By Makhdoom
Shehryar Babar
ISLAMABAD: The Charge d’Affaires of China Pang Chunxue Tuesday called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and emphasized that the latter was viewed as a strong and committed friend of China and enjoyed great respect and admiration there.
During the courtesy call, the charge d’ affaires conveyed warm felicitations and good wishes of the Chinese government and leadership on the assumption of office by the prime minister.
The charge d’ affaires also lauded the prime minister’s contribution to promoting the China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation during the years that he was Chief Minister of the Punjab province. Conveying his warm greetings and gratitude to the Chinese leadership, the prime minister recalled his many visits to China, when he also met with President Xi Jinping who had taken a personal interest in promoting relations with Pakistan.
The prime minister appreciated CPEC’s continued progress as the flagship project of President Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative and its importance for economic development and prosperity of Pakistan.
He affirmed his government’s resolve to speed up high quality development of CPEC projects and make it a symbol of China-Pakistan friendship and close partnership.
He underlined the importance of enhanced investment from China in industrialization, agriculture, and digital technologies.
Recalling his close cooperation with China as Chief Minister of Punjab, the prime minister reaffirmed the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Pakistan and China as a cornerstone of Pakistan’s policy and factor for regional peace and stability.
He underscored that friendship with China resided in the hearts of the people of Pakistan and China was Pakistan’s strongest friend and closest partner.
The prime minister affirmed his government’s commitment to further deepening the win-win economic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
Meanwhile, China on Tuesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the new prime minister of Pakistan and said it was looking forward to working with him to continue traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation and advance a high-quality building of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in new era.
” We congratulate Shebaz Sharif on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian remarked in response to a question. He said that China and Pakistan were all weather strategic and comprehensive cooperation partners with rock solid and unbreakable relations.
“China looks forward to working together with the Pakistani side carrying on our traditional friendship, resolutely supporting each other, deepening cooperation in various areas, and building a high quality CPEC to build an even closer China-Pak community of shared future in the new era,” he added.
Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the opposition in National Assembly, was sworn in as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan on Monday after securing 174 votes from the 342-seat assembly, officially taking over from former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who lost a no-confidence vote on Sunday.
