BEIJING, China: Pakistan and China on Monday agreed to further deepen the bilateral cooperation, smoothly achieve development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and take the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to new heights.
The understanding was reached when a visiting Pakistani delegation led by the Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif held delegation level talks with the Chinese delegation led by the China’s Foreign Minister and the State Councilor Wang Yi in Beijing.
Following the talks, the two Foreign Ministers also addressed a Joint Press Conference in which both the diplomats pledged that China and Pakistan would support multilateralism and maintain global trade system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) as its core.
The two foreign ministers agreed that Pakistan and China needed to cooperate more than ever to fight rising unilateralism and protectionism.
The Chinese foreign minister said CPEC – a flagship project implementing the China-proposed Belt & Road Initiative – was progressing well, adding China would continue to support Pakistan in economy, construction, anti-terrorism & international affairs.
Khawaja Asif is in Beijing to attend the two-day meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) beginning on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said that the Council of Foreign Ministers will discuss issues relating to peace and security at regional and international level and promotion of cooperation between member states.
The meeting will finalize preparations for the forthcoming SCO Heads of State Council in Qingdao.