Pakistan, China resolve for a stronger strategic cooperative partnership

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (APP):The leadership of Pakistan and China on Saturday underscored their commitment for a stronger strategic cooperative partnership and explore new avenues for practical collaboration.
The understanding reached between the two countries in a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang here at Great Hall of the People in Beijing, said a PM Office statement.
The prime minister is visiting China from November 2-5 on his first official visit at the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang.
On his arrival at the Great Hall of the People, the prime minister was received in an elegant and warm welcome ceremony where he inspected the guard of honour. The national anthems of both the countries were also played.
The bilateral meeting was also marked by traditional warmth, mutual understanding and trust.
Chinese Premier congratulated Prime Minister Imran Khan on his successful election as the prime minister and expressed his desire to work closely with him to further strengthen the “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” for shared future.
Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked Premier Li for the warm hospitality and reaffirmed the message of strong strategic partnership between Pakistan and China.
The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the multi-faceted bilateral cooperative relations. They reiterated their resolve to continue to deepen the relationship and explore new avenues for practical collaboration.
Both sides expressed satisfaction at the progress of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The two leaders expressed complete confidence on the importance and future development of CPEC. They expressed confidence that the process of industrial development of Pakistan would accelerate with the launch of Special Economic Zones and industrial parks.
Sharing his vision of ‘Naya Pakistan’, the prime minister congratulated Premier Li Keqiang on successful anti-corruption drive, poverty alleviation, and modernization of China based on innovation and IT.
He said that China’s phenomenal success in the last 40 years that resulted in socio-economic uplift of the people offered a great example for developing countries.
The two leaders expressed their commitment to maintain close engagement on issues of regional and global importance. They agreed that the relationship had withstood the test of time, notwithstanding changes in domestic, regional and global situations.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and MoUs in the fields of agriculture, poverty reduction, forestry, law enforcement and socio-economic development.
Premier Li also held a banquet in the honour of the prime minister and his entourage.
The prime minister extended invitation to Premier Li Keqiang to visit Islamabad at his earliest convenience. The date of the visit would be finalized through diplomatic channels.
According to our correspondent in Beijing, during the meeting with Imran Khan, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China and Pakistan enjoyed high level of political trust and close cooperation.
He expressed the confidence that the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China would further strengthen solid relations between the two countries.
“China is willing to work with your government to push forward solid relation with Pakistan,” he said.
Premier Li remarked that China viewed Pakistan as high priority on its diplomatic agenda and said that his government would engage in close cooperation with Pakistan’s government in different areas.
The Chinese Premier also recalled his meeting with Imran Khan during his meeting with the heads of political parties during his visit to Pakistan in 2013.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that CPEC was just an idea in 2013, but it was now on the ground and it had caught imagination of people of Pakistan.
He termed the CPEC framework a great opportunity for both countries to progress and attract the investment, adding, “The CPEC will give us opportunity to raise standard of living and economic growth rate.”