Wang Yi Holds Talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

On May 22, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Guangzhou.

Wang Yi said, China welcomes the fact that Bilawal carries forward the fine tradition of friendly exchanges between China and Pakistan, and paid a visit to China, which was his first official bilateral visit after taking office as foreign minister. China appreciates the new Pakistani government's firm commitment to developing the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries. China and Pakistan are true friends sharing weal and woe and good brothers having a heart-to-heart affinity. The friendship between China and Pakistan, jointly nurtured by several generations of leaders of the two countries, remains strong with new vitality. History has witnessed and will continue to witness that no matter how the international landscape may evolve, China-Pakistan relations are rock-solid and unshakable. China is ready to, as always, prioritize Pakistan in its neighborhood diplomacy, and join hands with Pakistan to meet risks and challenges, continuously consolidate the "ironclad" friendship between China and Pakistan, let the building of a China-Pakistan community with a shared future take root, make China-Pakistan relations a powerful stabilizing factor in the region, and enable China-Pakistan cooperation to provide more robust vitality for regional development and revitalization.

Wang Yi said, China is ready to maintain the momentum of high-level interaction with Pakistan, strengthen strategic communication, consolidate strategic mutual trust and deepen strategic cooperation, so as to continuously inject strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations. China will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, maintaining unity and stability, and taking a development path in line with its own national conditions. China believes that the two sides will continue to stand firmly together on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns.

Wang Yi stressed, against the current backdrop of the increasingly grave counterterrorism situation, the two sides should strengthen cooperation and take all necessary measures to resolutely prevent security incidents against Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan from happening again. China will continue to assist Pakistan in combating terrorism, and support Pakistan in strengthening comprehensive policies to eradicate the breeding ground of terrorism.

Bilawal said, China is the first country I visited after taking office as foreign minister. Pakistan and China enjoy time-honored amicable relations. I am particularly proud that all three generations of my family are firmly committed to the Pakistan-China friendship. As an "ironclad" friend, Pakistan is heartened by China's great achievements and firmly believes that no force can stop China from forging ahead. Developing amicable relations with China is the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy and an inevitable choice for Pakistan. Pakistan firmly adheres to the one-China principle, firmly supports China in safeguarding all core interests, and is ready to make joint efforts with China to strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges and personnel exchanges, so that the friendship between the two countries can be passed down from generation to generation.

Bilawal once again strongly condemned the Karachi terrorist attack, expressed condolences over the death of Chinese personnel caused by the terrorist attack, and stressed that the new Pakistani government has made effective protection of the safety of all Chinese citizens in Pakistan the highest priority at present, and is making every effort to speed up the investigation and hunting down of the perpetrators and will give exemplary punishment to them. Pakistan will formulate a national "enhanced version" of the work plan to form greater synergy to resolutely curb the rising trend of terrorist activities, eliminate the threat of terrorism, and never allow similar incidents to happen again.

The two sides expressed satisfaction with the sound development momentum of China-Pakistan economic and trade cooperation, and agreed to deepen all-round pragmatic cooperation, advance the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) safely, smoothly and with high quality, step up the implementation of cooperation on existing large projects, and ensure sound implementation of livelihood projects, so as to better benefit ordinary people.

The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination in multilateral fields, promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and build more international consensus. The two sides also need to strengthen communication and collaboration within the frameworks of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Group of 77 to safeguard the common interests of developing countries. Bilawal said, the GDI put forward by President Xi Jinping with great vision is very timely and necessary and will help all parties implement the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Pakistan has joined the Group of Friends of GDI and is ready to take the opportunity of building the CPEC to demonstrate the positive effects and concrete results of the GDI. Pakistan firmly supports the GSI and stands ready to jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and achieve common security.

Both sides agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation in pandemic response. Wang Yi expounded on the importance, necessity and positive results of China's commitment to the dynamic zero-COVID policy. Bilawal said, Pakistan fully understands and supports China's pandemic measures, and the Chinese government is truly acting on the philosophy of putting people and their lives front and center, which is admirable. Facts have proved that the dynamic zero-COVID policy is effective and has also inspired Pakistan. Pakistan resolutely opposes politicizing the pandemic.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghan issue and agreed to promote the implementation of the outcomes of the Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the Afghan Issue Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, so as to help Afghanistan achieve long-term peace and stability.

After the talks, the two sides issued a joint statement, and jointly met the press and answered questions.