Xi meets Pakistani PM

BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Friday.

Pointing out that China and Pakistan are good neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, good friends who share faith and righteousness, good partners who help each other, and good brothers who share weal and woe, Xi said the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership had continuously deepened and enjoyed solid public support with a strong internal driving force and broad prospects for development.

China stands ready to work with Pakistan to firmly support each other, strengthen cooperation, deepen strategic coordination, accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, Xi noted.

Xi stressed that the key to the ever-strengthening ironclad friendship between China and Pakistan lies in mutual understanding, high trust, and firm support between the two sides. He thanked Pakistan for its long-term and firm support for China on issues related to China's core interests and major concerns.

China will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, and in resolutely combating terrorism, he noted.

Xi said that China is ready to promote the alignment of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with Pakistan's development plans, carry out cooperation in agriculture, mining, and social livelihood in light of local conditions, make the high-quality development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) go deeper and be more concrete, and help boost Pakistan's economic and social development.

It is hoped that Pakistan will continue to create a safe, stable, and predictable business environment and earnestly guarantee the safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan, Xi said.

China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Pakistan in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and other multilateral mechanisms, jointly promote an equal and orderly world multipolarization and an economic globalization that is inclusive and benefits all, focus on the development agenda, address security challenges, improve global governance, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries and international fairness and justice, he said.

Shehbaz said that under the leadership of President Xi, China has made great achievements in poverty alleviation, anti-corruption and development, which have attracted worldwide attention.

Pakistan highly appreciates and fully supports the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi, which have provided strategic guidance for solving the problems facing the world today and promoting the building of a more peaceful and better world, he said.

He said the CPEC has strongly promoted Pakistan's national development and brought tangible benefits to the Pakistani people. He noted that Pakistan will learn from China's experience in governance, continue to work with China on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields.

Shehbaz reiterated that no force can stop China's development and growth or shake the iron-clad friendship between Pakistan and China. He noted that Pakistan will continue to firmly support China's position on all issues concerning its core interests without hesitation.