Chinese premier, Pakistani PM hold phone talks on ties

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday morning talked over phone with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Noting China and Pakistan are good neighbors, friends, partners and brothers, Li said that both sides should maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, promote greater progress in bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields, and jointly promote the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Li underlined that this year marks the 10th anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the 10th anniversary of the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), indicating that both sides should work together to improve the quality of the CPEC cooperation, making it a high-quality demonstration project of the Belt and Road cooperation.

China is willing to continuously import more quality agricultural and livestock products from Pakistan and advance industrial cooperation with Pakistan, Li said, adding that the two sides should accelerate expanding the cooperation in fields regarding agriculture, minerals, science and technology, and information technology.

Li noted that China supports Pakistan in maintaining financial stability, and hopes that Pakistan will continue to create a favorable environment so as to guarantee the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan.

China will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in defending national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and firmly support Pakistan in fighting terrorism, maintaining unity and stability, and achieving revitalization and development, said Li.

He also expressed that the two sides should support each other in multilateral field, uphold international fairness and justice, safeguard the common interests of both countries and other developing countries, defend regional peace and security, and promote common development.

For his part, Sharif said that Pakistan and China are "iron-clad brothers" and the destinies of the two countries are closely linked.

Pakistan is always a reliable partner of China in maintaining peace, promoting development and addressing common challenges, he said, adding that Pakistan adheres to the one-China policy and firmly supports China on all issues concerning the latter's core interests.

Sharif noted that Pakistan thanks China for its firm support and selfless help to Pakistan in safeguarding national independence and sovereignty and promoting national development. He expressed Pakistan's willingness to work with China to promote high-quality development of the CPEC, deepen cooperation in infrastructure, industry, agriculture, economy and trade, and push forward the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

Pakistan will make every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan, Sharif added.