Attempt to disrupt Sino-Pak ties 'bound to fail'

Pakistan and China have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in multiple sectors, including counter-terrorism, defence, agriculture, information technology and others, reiterating that the attempt to undermine or disrupt bilateral ties were bound to fail.

The bilateral ties and cooperation were discussed as President Asif Ali Zardari, during his ongoing five-day state visit to China, met with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji, according to a joint statement issued by the Foreign Office on Thursday encompassing the discussions and agreements reached during the visit.

"While the transformation not seen in a century is accelerating, the China-Pakistan relationship remains of strategic significance, and any attempt to disrupt or undermine it is bound to fail…The two sides agreed that the China-Pakistan All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership is a choice by history and by the people, and enjoys broad support from all walks of life in both countries," it said.

During the visit, the two sides signed over a dozen documents covering cooperation on CPEC, trade, science and technology, people's livelihoods, and media, etc.

Besides enhancing cooperation in IT and emerging areas like artificial intelligence, big data and communication technology, the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in education, media, think tanks, youth, films and television to strengthen the bond between the two peoples and enhance mutual learning between civilizations.

Pakistan and China agreed to conduct further consultation on trade liberalization under the framework of the Phase-II of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, and actively explore the possible bilateral concessional arrangements based on the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

It was also agreed to promote the implementation of the eight major steps on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in Pakistan and jointly build a growth corridor, a livelihood-enhancing corridor, an innovation corridor, a green corridor and an open corridor, to create an upgraded version of CPEC, in line with Pakistan's 5Es framework.

Both sides reaffirmed to make efforts to advance the upgradation of ML-1 in a phased and secure manner and reiterated that the Karakoram Highway (Raikot-Thakot) realignment project is of great importance to the land connectivity between China and Pakistan, and agreed to reach an early consensus on its implementation and financing.

Two sides believed that having withstood the test of changing international circumstances, the enduring partnership and iron-clad friendship between China and Pakistan transcended geopolitical interests. The two sides have always understood and supported each other, and have been deepening strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation.

Both countries believed that a peaceful and prosperous South Asia was in the common interest of all parties and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in South Asia and the need for resolution of all outstanding disputes, and their opposition to any unilateral action.

The Pakistani side briefed the Chinese leadership on the latest developments in the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Chinese side reiterated that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was left over from history and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the U.N. Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.

Recalling the 13th CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting, the two sides reiterated the commitment to further leverage the JCC's functions to strengthen alignment of ideas and coordination of actions for high-quality CPEC development.

The two sides agreed to hold the 14th JCC meeting as early as possible at a mutually agreed date.

Both sides welcomed the official inauguration of the new Gwadar International Airport, and reaffirmed their commitment to promoting the comprehensive development and operation of the Gwadar Port to further leverage its role as a multimodal logistics hub.

The Pakistani side reiterated its commitment to continuing to improve its business environment and provide a favorable policy framework for Chinese investment. The two sides welcomed the active participation of third parties in CPEC cooperation.

Pakistan and China expressed their willingness to encourage Chinese companies to engage in investment and cooperation in Pakistan's mining industry and encourage relevant departments of both countries to carry out terrestrial and marine geological survey cooperation.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen agricultural cooperation and select the next batch of projects under the CPEC framework.

It was agreed that China would encourage its technology companies to actively expand their businesses in Pakistan to accelerate Science & Technology cooperation in the high-quality development of CPEC's second phase and develop an innovation corridor.

The two sides agreed to maintain close communication and coordination on the issue of Afghanistan, and play a constructive role in helping Afghanistan achieve stable development and integrate into the international community.

They called on the Interim Afghan Government to take visible and verifiable actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist groups based in Afghanistan which continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security, and to prevent the use of Afghan territory against other countries.