By Liz Lee and Ethan Wang
BEIJING, May 25 (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping hailed China’s “unbreakable” friendship with Pakistan on Monday as he met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing, seeking to deepen their “all-weather” partnership.
Xi welcomed the Pakistani leader as an “old friend” at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People and said the two countries had “understood, trusted and supported each other” over decades.
Pakistan is among an exclusive group of countries which China regards as an “all-weather strategic partner”, spanning close economic, trade and security cooperation.
But Islamist militant attacks on Chinese nationals and projects in southwest Pakistan where China has big infrastructure investments have irked Beijing, while Islamabad’s warmer ties with Washington have complicated the relationship.
“No matter how the international situation changes, China always prioritises the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighbourhood diplomacy,” Xi said.
China called for enhancing cooperation in agriculture, industry, artificial intelligence and talent cultivation with Pakistan, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
Beijing was willing to work with Islamabad to build a closer-knit China-Pakistan community with a shared future, CCTV reported, adding that the Chinese leader emphasised maintaining high-level exchanges and strengthening strategic communication.
Sharif, in turn, called China and Pakistan two “iron brother” countries with a relationship that is “next to none”.
PAKISTAN’S ‘CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE’
Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, who was recently in Tehran for meetings with Iran’s leadership.
After a rickety ceasefire in the Iran conflict, achieved in April, Pakistan hosted mediation talks between Washington and Tehran, relaying proposals and missives between them.
Weeks into Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts, Washington has reported progress in negotiations with Tehran.
“I know that you have just returned from Iran and made positive efforts for the current peace. We still appreciate the constructive role played by Pakistan,” Xi said.
Both countries should carry out higher-level and broader security cooperation to help regional peace and stability, CCTV cited Xi as saying, without referring to a specific conflict.
For Pakistan, engaging China in its mediation efforts is important given Beijing and Tehran’s close ties.
China and Pakistan issued an initiative in March as their foreign ministers met in Beijing, calling for peace talks and restoration of normal navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ethan Wang; Editing by Alison Williams, David Holmes and Alexander Smith)
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