Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, where they both resolved to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project “from its detractors and adversaries.”
In her weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the two leaders held delegation-level talks and “expressed their firm commitment to protect CPEC from its detractors and adversaries.” They also reiterated their unwavering support for each other on core issues and reaffirmed their continued commitment to CPEC’s high-quality development and the timely completion of all ongoing projects, she added.
According to the spokesperson, the two leaders asserted that the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership was “characterized by mutual trust, shared principles and strategic convergence.” Sharif informed his counterpart of Pakistan’s “unflinching resolve” to ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan, she added. The issue of security of Chinese personnel in Pakistan has been a major point of concern as several terror attacks over the past two years have specifically targeted foreigners, ostensibly in a bid to discourage any further projects under CPEC.
Baloch said the two nations had agreed to maintain high-level exchanges, including “strengthening institutional linkages at all tiers and in all spheres of bilateral cooperation.” Additionally, she said, Pakistan and China would continue to consult closely on issues of regional and global significance and multilateral fora, especially during the two-year tenure of Pakistan as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
The spokesperson noted that 23 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed during P.M. Sharif’s visit to China, stressing they were aimed at “deepening cooperation in transport infrastructure, industry, energy, agriculture, media, health, water and socio-economic development,” amongst other areas.