Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday reaffirmed the strong political and strategic ties between China and Pakistan, as he called their relationship “ironclad” in talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Beijing.
The state media from China said both sides have offered strong political support to each other continuously, have maintained frequent high-level exchanges and have deepened cooperation on CPEC and other flagship projects.
Describing the US $60bn CPEC, a landmark transformational opportunity at Pakistan’s Gwadar Port and Chin’s Xinjiang Province, “this is transformational for Pak Gwadar port and north China’s Xinjiang province where two countries look out to expand an investment”, believe Pakistani political analysts with justification.
He also met Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, whom he said on Tuesday has been informed about Pakistan’s efforts to improve people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Both leaders have again confirmed that strategic mutual trust is at the heart of China-Pakistan relations, APP news agency in Pakistan quotes.
Zardari was one of four leaders attending the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China has termed as a major international winter sports event after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Among the invitees were heads of state from Kyrgyzstan, Brunei, and Thailand.
China extended these invitations as part of its celebrations for the Lunar New Year, marking the Year of the Snake, underlining its diplomatic outreach to regional partners.