China and Pakistan should accelerate the building of a closer community with a shared future in the new era, and achieve more results in all-weather cooperation between the two countries, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.
Xi made the remarks when meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing.
Xi said that China and Pakistan have forged an unbreakable friendship, marked by mutual understanding, trust, and support, over the 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and that the strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two sides have effectively promoted their respective development.
No matter how the international landscape evolves, developing ties with Pakistan has always been a high priority in China's neighborhood diplomacy, Xi said.
Xi said that he had received a letter not long ago from Pakistani students at Tianjin University, who said they wanted to be builders of China-Pakistan cooperation, disseminators of bilateral exchanges, and guardians of bilateral friendship. Xi said it was heartening to see that bilateral friendship is being carried forward by the younger generation.
Xi urged the two sides to bring greater benefits to the people of both countries, promote regional peace and stability, and set an example for building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries.
Xi said that China firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stands ready to maintain high-level exchanges and enhance strategic communication with Pakistan.
Xi called for efforts from both sides to make solid progress regarding the action plan on building a China-Pakistan community with a shared future, advance the coordinated development of both major signature projects and "small and beautiful" public wellbeing projects, and deepen all-round cooperation covering agriculture, industry, artificial intelligence, talent training and other fields.
The Chinese president said that the two sides should raise security cooperation to a higher level and expand it into broader fields to jointly maintain regional peace and stability.
China commends Pakistan for taking the initiative to play a mediating role in restoring peace in the Middle East, said Xi, calling on the two sides to maintain close communication and coordination, oppose unilateralism and Cold War mentality, and promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.
For his part, Shehbaz said that President Xi Jinping is a great friend of the people of Pakistan and of all peace-loving people worldwide. He said Pakistan firmly upholds the one-China principle and firmly supports China's position on all issues bearing on China's core interests.
The Pakistani prime minister said his country stands ready to learn from China's experience in national governance, deepen Belt and Road cooperation, and further the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, so as to sustain the growth of bilateral ties for the benefit of their people.
Sharif said that Pakistan appreciated China's support in mediating the U.S.-Iran negotiations, noting that President Xi's four propositions on the Middle East offer guidance for achieving peace.
Pakistan is willing to closely coordinate with China and jointly contribute to world peace and stability, said Shehbaz.
Xi urges faster building of closer China-Pakistan community with shared future in new era
