Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif Meets with Yang Jiechi

On June 29, 2022 local time, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met with Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi in Islamabad.

Yang Jiechi conveyed the cordial greetings from President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to Prime Minister Shahbaz. Yang Jiechi said that Pakistan is China's "ironclad" friend and reliable brother. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, the mutual trust and friendship between China and Pakistan will remain rock-solid. China will, as always, prioritize China-Pakistan relations in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is ready to further strengthen policy communication and coordination of development strategies with Pakistan, continue the traditional friendship, enhance strategic mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a safe, smooth and high-quality way, and work together to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Yang Jiechi said that China is willing to step up coordination with Pakistan on multilateral affairs to safeguard the common interests of developing countries. China appreciates Pakistan's support for the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and stands ready to work with Pakistan to implement the initiatives so as to make Asia and the world more peaceful, secure and prosperous.

Shahbaz asked Yang Jiechi to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Shahbaz said that developing relations with China serves as the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. Pakistan firmly pursues the one-China principle and firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests and major concerns. The Pakistani government and people appreciate China's long-term and selfless assistance and are willing to learn from China's successful experience in economic development and pandemic response. China has a bright future for development, and no force can ever hold back the process of the development of China. Pakistan is ready to work with China to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, speed up the construction of the CPEC and push the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China to a new height. The GDI and the GSI meet shared aspirations of the international community and will surely play important roles in regional and world peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Both China and Pakistan agreed to further strengthen cooperation in safeguarding and promoting regional security, stability and development as well as counter-terrorism.

During his visit, Yang Jiechi also met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa and the two sides exchanged in-depth views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.