Beijing, May 21 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China from May 23 to 26, during which he will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
Sharif is visiting at the invitation of Li, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
Guo said Sharif’s visit will be an important high-level exchange between the two countries. The two sides have kept close communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, effectively safeguarded their common interests, and promoted regional peace, stability and development, he said.
China expects both sides to take this visit as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation and jointly write a new chapter in building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, Guo said. On Thursday, Xi also greeted his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, Xi said in this message that “China and Pakistan are good friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners linked by mountains and rivers and sharing weal and woe.” Since establishing diplomatic relations 75 years ago, “the friendship between China and Pakistan has always remained rock-solid and unbreakable”, the Chinese leader was quoted as saying.
He further said, the two countries have maintained “high-level mutual political trust, practical cooperation, security cooperation and international collaboration” for a long time, setting a model for state-to-state relations.
Xi said he attaches great importance to developing China-Pakistan relations and is willing to work with Zardari to take the anniversary as an opportunity to enhance strategic communication, carry forward traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation, and accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community, the Xinhua reported. PTI KJV ABD ABD
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