———- Under leadership of new govt, Pakistan will enter a new stage of political unity, social stability, says Chinese FM
———- Dar, Wang Yi hold strategic talks
———- Both sides agree to promote CPEC with third-party participation
———- Aim to further deepen bilateral ties thru high-level exchanges
From Mahnoor Makhdoom
BEIJING: China said on Wednesday that it firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding national sovereignty, inde-pendence and territorial integrity and in playing a bigger role in international and regional affairs.
The remarks were expressed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi while co-chairing the fifth round of the Foreign Minister-Level China-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Wednesday.
The two sides pledged to enhance pragmatic cooperation in various fields.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, not-ed that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners.
Over the years, he said that Pakistan has firmly adhered to the one-China principle and offered China valuable support without reservation on issues concerning China’s core interests.
Wang said that China also firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and in playing a bigger role in international and regional affairs.
“It is believed that under the leadership of the new government, Pakistan will enter a new stage of political unity, social stability, controllable security and sustainable development,” he said.
China and Pakistan will support each other, share weal and woe, and work hand in hand to push China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to a new level, Wang added.
The Chinese foreign minister said that his country is willing to work with Pakistan to implement the im-portant consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, pool efforts to promote the construc-tion of an upgraded version of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and work together to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.
In addition, China will not waver in its determination to deepen cooperation with Pakistan, and hopes that Pakistan will continue to do its utmost to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan and eliminate the worries of Chinese enterprises and personnel, he added.
The Pakistan-China friendship is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy, Dar said, adding that Paki-stan abides by the one-China principle, firmly supports China without hesitation on all issues concern-ing China’s core interests, and looks forward to further deepening bilateral practical cooperation in var-ious fields.
He further said that Pakistan will do its utmost to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institu-tions in Pakistan.
The deputy prime minister highlighted the threats posed to regional peace and security due to India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir, and appreciated China’s principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Both sides reiterated the resolve to further deepen the bilateral ties through continued high-level ex-changes and bilateral consultative mechanisms.
They also renewed the commitment to advance the high-quality development of CPEC in its second phase with its focus on five corridors namely growth, innovation, open, livelihood and green corridors.
