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By Rehan Khan
ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 (APP):Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong has underscored the evolving and deepening partnership between China and Pakistan, describing it as a distinctive and unparalleled alliance.
Talking to a select group of journalists here at the Chinese Embassy, he noted the significance of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s participation in the 16th BRICS Summit, held from October 22 to 24, 2024, in Kazan, Russia, which garnered global attention, including from Pakistan.
Referring to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Ambassador Jiang highlighted that it was established with China’s involvement 23 years ago and has since expanded from 6 to 26 member states, covering a significant portion of the world’s population. He underscored President Xi’s consistent support for SCO’s development, adding that Xi had promoted the organization as a platform for solidarity, mutual trust, and regional stability at this year’s Astana Summit.
The Chinese envoy also acknowledged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s participation in the Astana Summit, where he discussed important initiatives aimed at achieving common goals.
Ambassador Jiang highlighted key outcomes from the 23rd Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, held in Pakistan from October 15-16, 2024. He shared that according to his understanding, Chinese Premier Li Qiang proposed several initiatives focusing on four main areas: expanding practical cooperation among member countries, proactively addressing major risks, enhancing people-to-people exchanges, and building upon the consensus reached during earlier meetings.
Ambassador Jiang elaborated that these efforts align with China’s broader vision to contribute towards regional stability and prosperity, as articulated by President Xi at the Astana Summit.
Turning his attention to the BRICS Summit, the ambassador lauded the enlargement of BRICS, which he described as a “milestone in the evolution of the international situation.” He reaffirmed China’s commitment to working with Pakistan within both BRICS and the SCO frameworks to foster closer collaboration.
In response to a question regarding Pakistan’s potential BRICS membership, the ambassador expressed China’s desire to strengthen solidarity with Pakistan in multilateral forums. He further highlighted the importance of media-to-media and people-to-people exchanges between the two nations, noting that China had organized several media delegation visits to showcase progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other key projects.
Ambassador Jiang stressed that CPEC had entered a new phase of development, with cooperation extending into emerging sectors such as electric vehicles and renewable energy.
The ambassador revealed that bilateral talks during Premier Li Qiang’s visit had yielded concrete results, including the signing of many cooperation documents covering various sectors, with security cooperation as a key focus.
He reiterated President Xi’s stance that “security is the guarantee for development,” stressing the importance of enhanced collaboration to protect Chinese nationals and projects in Pakistan.
The ambassador acknowledged the sacrifices of Pakistan’s military and police forces in counterterrorism efforts and urged the Pakistani government to bring the perpetrators of terrorist attacks against Chinese nationals to justice.
“The Chinese people who come to Pakistan are helping build its infrastructure; they are innocent and their families deserve protection,” he stated, emphasizing the need for strict action against terrorist groups responsible for these attacks.
Ambassador Jiang concluded by affirming China’s full support in bolstering Pakistan’s counterterrorism capacity and called for immediate steps to ensure the security of Chinese citizens and projects in Pakistan.
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