China, Pakistan vow to enhance strategic, cooperative partnership

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain have agreed to enhance the strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries, featuring a more solid political foundation, closer economic links, deepened security cooperation and more fluent cultural and people-to-people exchanges, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday. During Wednesday's talks in Beijing, Xi and Hussain also agreed to keep high-level interactions and strategic communication between the two countries, and support each other firmly on issues involving their core interests and major concerns, according to the report. The two presidents pledged to step up coordination on economic policy, boost defense and security cooperation, increase cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and enhance coordination on international and regional issues. Xi said China supports and appreciates Pakistan's efforts to realize reconciliation with India, and Hussain said Pakistan will continue dialogue with India to improve ties with them. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a series of cooperative documents by authorities and enterprises from both sides in areas such as economic and trade cooperation, regional connectivity, energy, and people-to-people contact. Hussain arrived in the Chinese capital on Tuesday for a four-day state visit. It is his first official foreign trip since taking office in September. After the talks, the two sides issued a joint statement on deepening China-Pakistan strategic and economic cooperation, in which they pledged to "translate the high level of mutual trust and cooperation that exists" into practical cooperation which can deliver prosperity to the people to both countries. The two presidents urged relevant offices on both sides to speed up work on the construction of a China-Pakistan economic corridor. The project connecting Kashgar in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the southwestern Pakistani port of Gwadar was proposed in an agreement between the two countries reached during Premier Li's visit to Pakistan in May. "It was agreed that the economic corridor, by combining China and Pakistan's respective development strategy, would be conducive to their goals of developing the economy and improving people's livelihood, as well as bring benefits to development and prosperity in the region," said the joint statement. The Chinese side also assured Pakistan of its full support in helping the latter to address its energy deficit, which was a major obstacle to Pakistan's socio-economic development. "The Chinese side will continue to encourage and support China's state-owned enterprises and private companies to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan's conventional and renewable energy sectors," said the statement. According to the statement, Pakistan recognized the East Turkistan Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization, which poses a common threat to the peace and stability of China and Pakistan. "Pakistan will continue to support China's efforts in combatting the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism," said the statement.