ُPakistani Premier Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations, the regional situation and other matters of mutual interest.
According to a PM Office press release, the premier thanked President Xi and the Chinese government for its “principled stance” on the Kashmir issue, particularly mentioning Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s stance on the issue at the United Nations General Assembly.
The premier said that China had supported Pakistan in all difficult times.
Pakistan and China vowed to expedite completion of projects associated with the multi-billion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and also to implement the second phase of the China–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Acknowledging measures taken by Pakistan, to advance the CPEC projects, China maintained that the second phase of the CPEC will pave the way for enhanced Chinese investments in Pakistan and thus will prove instrumental in consolidating Pakistan’s economic development.
Prime Minister Imran briefed Xi about the current situation in the country, sharing that Pakistan had come out of a difficult economic situation.
“We will never forget China’s financial cooperation in this regard,” he was quoted as saying, adding that China had helped Pakistan without “any conditionality”.
“Pakistan and China are all-weather friends and strategic cooperative partners.”
The premier congratulated the Chinese president on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and thanked him for the warm welcome the Pakistani delegation had received in Beijing.
President Xi lauded the premier for speaking about Pakistan and China’s relations during the UNGA, and said that both countries enjoy close friendly relations and cooperated with each other in different fields.
