Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday. During this, he said that China and Pakistan have given strong political support to each other and both countries have taken advantage of their confirmed friendship.
China’s official media said that President Xi said, “There is a strong friendship between China and Pakistan and they are evergreen strategic ally partners.”
He said that in recent years, the two countries have provided strong political support to each other, maintaining high level exchanges. Both countries have carried forward the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and cooperated in various fields.
‘Game changer is CPEC Project’
CPEC, US $ 60 billion connecting China’s Xinjiang with Pakistan’s Gwadar port, was called a ‘game changer’ by Pakistan leaders, but this project has caused tension between the two countries. Because China is worried about repeated attacks on many Chinese people working on CPEC projects.
Earlier, Zardari met Jhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee during the five -day visit on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s official APP News Agency said that the two leaders have underlined strategic mutual confidence in the form of the foundation stone of China-Pakistan relations.
President Zardari is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other officials including Internal Minister Naqvi. Zardari was among the four leaders who were invited by China to participate in the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Which was described by the Chinese Foreign Ministry as another comprehensive international winter sports event organized by China after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
China is hosting the leaders of Asian countries, celebrating its new year. Apart from Zardari, the invited people included the heads of Kyrgyzstan, Brunei and Thailand.