Xi hails China's 'unbreakable' friendship with Pak as he meets PM Shehbaz

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, 25 May, met Chinese President Xi Jinping, who described Beijing’s ties with Islamabad as an “unbreakable” friendship and praised Pakistan for taking the initiative to help mediate efforts aimed at restoring peace in West Asia.

During the meeting at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi referred to Shehbaz as an “old friend” and said China and Pakistan had, over the decades, “understood, trusted and supported each other”, building an “unbreakable traditional friendship”, according to Dawn newspaper.

“China commends Pakistan for taking the initiative to play a mediating role in restoring peace in the Middle East,” Xi told Shehbaz, who was accompanied by chief of defence forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, who concluded his visit to Iran on Saturday.

Sharif, in turn, appreciated China’s backing for Pakistan’s role in mediating between the US and Iran, and said President Xi’s four-point proposal on the West Asia situation provided guidance towards achieving peace, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

“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,” Dawn quoted Xi as saying. Shehbaz described China and Pakistan as “iron brother” nations sharing a relationship that was “next to none”.

Earlier in the day, Shehbaz held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and called for Islamabad and Beijing to “really be together” in efforts to restore peace in West Asia. Speaking during delegation-level talks with Li at the Great Hall of the People, Shehbaz said the world was passing through a “very critical moment”.

“There is a crisis in the Gulf, and Pakistan has played a very sincere role to mediate between the US and Iran,” he said, noting that Field Marshal Munir had only recently returned from Tehran.

“And he (Munir) didn’t want to miss this great visit, and he assured me that he will be joining me in this meeting, and he has been travelling throughout the night,” said Shehbaz, who arrived in China on Saturday on a four-day official visit coinciding with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two all-weather allies.

The Pakistan prime minister said the army chief had played “a very important role back and forth with the Iranian leadership and the American leadership”, while also referring to Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s engagements with regional counterparts.

“We hope and pray to Allah Almighty that peace will be restored forever, and lots of ground has already been covered. Things are moving in the right direction,” he said.

He thanked President Xi and the Chinese leadership for their “great support to Pakistan to promote peace and achieve a ceasefire”.

Shehbaz said his visit came at a “critical moment of history”, as both countries marked 75 years of what he described as a “glorious friendship and diplomatic relations established by our founding fathers”.

Quoting an official statement, Dawn reported that Shehbaz reaffirmed that the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership remained a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

He said the “iron-clad friendship” between the two countries was founded on mutual trust, strategic confidence, and a shared commitment to peace, development and prosperity.

According to the statement, the two sides reiterated their support for one another on all issues concerning their core interests. The leaders reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral ties and expressed satisfaction with the continued growth of cooperation across political, economic, strategic, security and people-to-people sectors.

Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the “high-quality development” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its next phase, with emphasis on industrialisation, connectivity, agriculture, science and technology, digital transformation, clean energy and socio-economic development.

He also underscored the importance of aligning China’s 15th Five-Year Plan with Pakistan’s development framework, Uraan Pakistan, to advance Islamabad’s development priorities and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, the statement said.

The prime minister expressed appreciation for China’s “consistent support” towards Pakistan’s national development and economic stability. He reiterated Pakistan’s determination to ensure robust security for Chinese nationals, institutions and projects operating in the country, and highlighted the need for greater cooperation in emerging fields including space, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

According to the statement, Shehbaz said the selection of Pakistani astronauts for China’s space station programme reflected the growing depth of bilateral cooperation in new and strategic sectors.

“Both sides agreed to maintain close coordination, accelerate implementation of agreed projects and carry forward the Pakistan-China partnership into a new phase of practical, results-oriented and high-quality cooperation,” the statement added.

Separately, state-run Pakistan Television reported that Shehbaz and Premier Li witnessed the signing and exchange of several memoranda of understanding, protocols and cooperation agreements spanning trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology, climate change, education, media and people-to-people exchanges.

State-run APP reported that the 15 documents included an MoU on economic development cooperation and another on environment and climate change cooperation.

The two countries also signed a letter concerning counterterrorism equipment cooperation and an MoU on human resource development cooperation.

Shehbaz had arrived first in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on Saturday, where he visited industrial facilities, interacted with provincial officials, and later travelled to Beijing for talks with the Chinese leadership.

With PTI inputs