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Pakistan and China last week reiterated their commitment to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), inviting third parties to join the project and further enhance regional connectivity and cooperation.
The Foreign Office, in a statement issued after the third round of Pakistan-China Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) in Beijing, said both sides had “reaffirmed their commitment to CPEC that remained a major pillar of bilateral cooperation and a symbol of ever-deepening friendship.” It said both sides, during their meeting on Saturday, had “reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, and agreed to expand and reinforce political and security cooperation, bilateral trade, economic and financial cooperation, cultural exchanges, tourism, and people-to-people ties.”
Pakistan and China, it added, had also decided to enhance high-level engagements and dialogue mechanisms and make the channels of communication even more robust. Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan, who led Pakistan’s delegation, thanked the Chinese side for its consistent and generous support for economic stability of Pakistan, as well as Beijing’s humanitarian assistance during last year’s devastating floods. Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, who led the Chinese side, reaffirmed his country’s support for Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and economic security.
Both sides also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues of mutual interest and expressed satisfaction over their close cooperation and engagement on important regional developments including in Afghanistan. Pakistan and China would further strengthen dialogue and cooperation in multilateral platforms, the statement added.
According to state-run APP, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang also met Pakistan’s foreign secretary, saying Beijing was ready to work with Islamabad “to advance friendly cooperation and promote the construction of CPEC.” Reiterating Beijing’s commitment to the strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries, he said China would extend “across-the-board support” to Pakistan. They also agreed to build on the consensus reached during the visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Beijing in November 2022.