President Asif Ali Zardari and Chinese President Xi Jinping took note of the \u201cpositive trajectory\u201d of their bilateral relations on Wednesday and reaffirmed their mutual support on core issues of interest. The affirmation came during a visit of President Zardari who landed in China a day ago with a delegation that also includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Senator Saleem Mandviwala, and Dr Asim Hussain. The visit comes a few days after the Foreign Office (FO) rejected \u201cbaseless and unfounded\u201d allegations targeting Pakistan\u2019s commitment to China\u2019s policies following the interior minister\u2019s attendance at an event in the United States. Naqvi reportedly made a diplomatic misstep by attending an event hosted by the New Federal State of China, the US-based political lobby, composed of Chinese dissidents and Americans, that advocates for the overthrow of China\u2019s ruling Communist Party, a major ally of Pakistan. Numerous statements were later issued by Pakistani officials and the FO reaffirming the relationship with China. A press release issued from the President\u2019s Secretariat today said Zardari met Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. \u201cThe two leaders discussed the positive trajectory of Pakistan and China\u2019s bilateral relationship, regional and international issues of common interest, and opportunities to further expand the scope of bilateral partnership, especially through continued high-level exchanges. Underlining the enduring friendship between the two countries, they also reaffirmed support for each other on the issues of core interest,\u201d the statement said. It added that President Zardari reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s steadfast commitment to its \u201call-weather strategic cooperative partnership\u201d with China and underlined the \u201cunique, time-tested and special relationship\u201d between the two countries. He also commended China\u2019s \u201cexemplary\u201d development, progress and prosperity, calling it a \u201cmanifestation of the vision of the Chinese leadership and dynamism of the Chinese people\u201d. President Zardari also paid tribute to his counterpart for China\u2019s \u201cprofound contributions\u201d to global development under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), calling the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a \u201cshining model\u201d of the BRI\u2019s \u201cvisionary concept of win-win cooperation\u201d. The statement added that both sides also discussed the high-quality development of CPEC\u2019s second phase and its vital role in promoting regional connectivity, shared benefits and common prosperity, including through partnerships with other countries. The duo underlined the significance of people-to-people linkages and cultural exchanges for strengthening the \u201cshared future in the new era\u201d of the Pakistan-China community. President Zardari extended his invitation to Xi to visit Pakistan, emphasising that the people and government held him in high esteem as a \u201cvisionary leader and as a special friend of Pakistan\u201d, the statement said. The meeting was followed by the signing of memorandums of understanding to enhance cooperation in the fields of science and technology, media, clean energy and socioeconomic development, among others. Zardari was earlier warmly welcomed by Xi and presented with a guard of honour upon his arrival. After the signing ceremony, President Xi hosted a state banquet in honour of the Pakistani delegation. Earlier today, President Zardari underscored the time-tested and all-weather friendship between the two countries which continued to grow in depth and scope over the decades in a meeting with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of National People\u2019s Congress and China\u2019s third highest-ranking official behind President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The two officials underlined \u201cstrategic mutual trust\u201d as the cornerstone of their bilateral relationship and emphasised the importance of continued high-level exchanges to further deepen ongoing practical cooperation between the two countries. The two sides also discussed the high-quality development of CPEC\u2019s second phase with a particular emphasis on promoting cooperation in science and technology, renewable energy, infrastructure and agriculture sectors. They described CPEC as a \u201cshining example of people-centric development with its focus on win-win cooperation, shared benefits and common prosperity\u201d. The president and the Chinese officials also discussed opportunities to strengthen institutional linkages, including through parliamentary exchanges and participation in the CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultative Mechanism, to further solidify bilateral cooperation. Interior ministers agree to enhance intelligence sharing Pakistan and China also agreed to further improve mutual intelligence sharing in a meeting between their interior ministers today. The interaction between Naqvi and his Chinese counterpart Qi Yanjun lasted two hours and came in the backdrop of attacks on Chinese personnel working in Pakistan that have angered China, which has pushed the federal government to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system. Aside from vowing to enhance intelligence sharing between the two nations, the interior ministers also discussed cooperation to further secure the border between the two countries, in addition to the use of modern technology for police and paramilitary forces. The two officials also led a detailed discussion on acquiring modern equipment and technology for the police from China. Cooperation with the National Police Academy was also discussed by the two officials who further decided to increase cooperation between the Beijing Police and Islamabad Police. They also expressed satisfaction over a meeting of the Joint Working Group in January in which the two sides had reaffirmed their commitment to high-quality development of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with an emphasis on industrialisation, spe\u00adc\u00adial economic zones, clean ene\u00adrgy, agriculture and livelihood projects. Pakistan\u2019s ongoing counter-terrorism efforts remain a key topic of discussion between the two countries due to the rising frequency of attacks targeting Chinese nationals working in Pakistan. Of the major attacks that have targeted Chinese citizens in Pakistan since 2021, the biggest one was when at least 12 persons, including nine Chinese engineers and two Frontier Corps personnel, were killed when a bus was attacked near the Dasu hydropower plant in KP\u2019s Upper Kohistan district in July 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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