Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday exchanged congratulatory messages on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Xi said that China and Pakistan are good friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners linked by mountains and rivers and sharing weal and woe.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 75 years ago, no matter how the international situation has changed, the friendship between China and Pakistan has always remained rock-solid and unbreakable, he said.
The two countries have maintained high-level mutual political trust, practical cooperation, security cooperation and international collaboration for a long time, setting a model for state-to-state relations, Xi added.
Xi said he attaches great importance to developing China-Pakistan relations and is willing to work with Zardari to take the anniversary as an opportunity to enhance strategic communication, carry forward traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation, and accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, so that China-Pakistan relations can better benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional peace and development.
Zardari said that the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has stood the test of time and become a firm pillar for peace, stability, and development in the region.
The Pakistani side highly appreciates the series of far-reaching global initiatives proposed by Xi and deeply values Xi's firm commitment to deepening Pakistan-China relations and promoting the building of a closer Pakistan-China community with a shared future in the new era, said Zardari.
Pakistan sincerely thanks China for its firm support in safeguarding Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity and in promoting economic and social development, and will continue to support China on issues concerning China's core interests, further elevating the Pakistan-China friendship to a new height, said the Pakistani president.
On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also exchanged congratulatory messages.
Li said that China is willing to work together with Pakistan to strengthen unity and cooperation, and actively build an upgraded Version 2.0 of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in order to continuously promote the development of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.
Shehbaz said that the Pakistan-China relationship is based on mutual trust, sovereign equality, and a common pursuit of peace and development. Pakistan is firmly committed to advancing the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and continuously opening up new areas for Pakistan-China cooperation, he said.
At the invitation of Li, Shehbaz will pay an official visit to China from May 23 to 26, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Thursday.
Chinese, Pakistani presidents exchange congratulations on 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties
