Xi sends sympathy to Pakistani head of state

President Xi Jinping has sent his sympathy to his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi over the latter's contracting of COVID-19, wishing him an early recovery from the illness.

In his message of sympathy to Alvi, which was made public on Friday, Xi said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners.

The Chinese government and people will, as always, firmly stand with the Pakistani government and people in the fight against the virus and will prevail over the pandemic, Xi said.

Noting that he considers the development of bilateral ties to be of great importance, Xi said he stands ready to work with Alvi to advance the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future to benefit the two countries and two peoples.

Alvi confirmed on social media on Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The president said that he received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine "but antibodies start developing after second dose that was due in a week", advising the public to remain careful amid the spread of the virus in the country.

Pakistan is currently facing a serious third wave of the virus, according to the country's National Command and Operation Center. More than 670,000 people have tested positive for the disease in the country, of which over 14,400 have died.

The first batch of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines and the first batch of CanSino COVID-19 vaccines that the Pakistani government purchased from China were officially handed over to the Pakistani side on Wednesday.

Addressing a ceremony held at the Noor Khan Air Base near the country's capital Islamabad, Special Assistant to the Pakistani Prime Minister on Health Faisal Sultan said that the two batches of Chinese vaccines that the Pakistani government purchased will greatly bolster Pakistan's nationwide vaccination drive.

Pakistan has confidence in the efficacy and safety of both the Sinopharm and CanSino COVID-19 vaccines, he said, adding that Pakistan plans to buy more vaccines from China.

Earlier in the year, China donated three batches of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan.