China ready to join Pakistan for closer community with shared future -- Premier Li

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Monday that China is willing to work with Pakistan to accelerate the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

In his meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Li said that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, always understanding, trusting, and supporting each other.

Noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Shehbaz in June and further planned the development of China-Pakistan relations, Li said that China has always placed such ties as a priority in its foreign policy and is willing to work with Pakistan to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders.

China is ready to continuously strengthen strategic coordination and deepen cooperation in various fields, and stride hand in hand with Pakistan on the path of modernization and national rejuvenation, he added.

Li pointed out that China firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and taking a development path that suits its national conditions.

China is ready to work with Pakistan to build an "upgraded version" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), accelerate the construction of major projects in areas such as railways, highways and ports, strengthen industrial integration, deepen practical cooperation in agriculture, mining, information technology, and energy, to ensure the bilateral cooperation benefit the people more broadly, he added.

It is hoped that Pakistan will continue to provide a good business environment for Chinese companies and try its best to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions, and projects in Pakistan, Li said.

China firmly supports Pakistan's counterterrorism effort, and stands ready to actively promote counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan and help Pakistan strengthen its counterterrorism capacity building, he added.

Li also said that China is ready to work closely with Pakistan in multilateral coordination and cooperation, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, safeguard peace in Asia, and jointly promote regional development and prosperity.

For his part, Shehbaz extended his congratulations on the successful convening of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and spoke highly of China's tremendous development achievements under President Xi's leadership.

The unbreakable Pakistan-China friendship has weathered the storm, and the Pakistan-China relations are the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, he said.

Pakistan firmly abides by the one-China principle, firmly supports China's position on issues relating to its core interests such as Taiwan, Xizang, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the South China Sea, fully supports the three global initiatives proposed by President Xi, and sincerely thanks China for its valuable assistance to Pakistan's development over the years, he added.

Shehbaz said that the Pakistani government once again expressed its deep condolences over the recent terrorist attack that claimed the lives of Chinese nationals in Pakistan, and has pledged to do its utmost to hunt down perpetrators, fight terrorism, and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions, and projects in Pakistan.

Pakistan is willing to work with China to create an "upgraded version" of the CPEC within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, speed up transport infrastructure connectivity, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology, mining and renewable energy, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and multilateral coordination, and continue to push forward the building of an even closer Pakistan-China community with a shared future in the new era, he noted.

Following the meeting, Li and Shehbaz jointly attended the ceremony of cooperation documents exchange on such fields as CPEC, livelihood assistance, science and technology, radio and television, test and quarantine, and other fields.