Chinese premier meets Pakistani president

BEIJING -- Premier Li Qiang met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Beijing on Thursday.

Noting that bilateral cooperation is expanding in scope and achieving more and more positive results, Li said that the ironclad friendship between the two sides has been renewed and deepened.

Li added that China stands ready to work with Pakistan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain close high-level exchanges, continue to carry forward the traditional friendship, firmly support each other on issues concerning core interests and major concerns, push forward the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan, and make the building of a China-Pakistan community with a shared future more beneficial to the two peoples.

Li also noted that China is ready to forge synergy between the development strategies of the two countries, jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, advance the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, push forward construction of major projects concerning roads, railways and ports in an orderly manner, deepen cooperation in terms of agriculture, mining, new energy information technology and artificial intelligence, expand sub-national cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and better promote the common development of the two countries.

China is willing to further deepen security cooperation with Pakistan and hopes that Pakistan can earnestly guarantee the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, Li said.

Zardari said that Pakistan and China have always supported and helped each other in the changing international situation, adding that mutual trust and friendship between the two countries have been passed down from generation to generation.

Pakistan cherishes the bilateral friendship with China and is ready to join hands with China to further deepen exchanges and cooperation in trade, investment and other fields, and to achieve common prosperity, he said.

Pakistan welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Pakistan, and will do its utmost to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, Zardari added.