BEIJING, Jan 16: Chinese President Jiang Zemin met top military officials from old ally Pakistan on Wednesday even as Premier Zhu Rongji deepened Beijing’s ties with India during a trip to India.
Chinese state television led the news with shots of Jiang giving warm handshakes to Gen Mohammad Aziz Khan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military brass at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound.
Zhu, meanwhile, was due to address key business figures in India’s financial centre, Bombay, on a visit that Indian officials said has eased decades of distrust between two nations that waged a border war in 1962.
China has evened out its approach to India and Pakistan since they became deadlocked in tense border stand-off, sparked by a suicide attack on India’s parliament last month which New Dehli blamed on Pakistan-based militants while Islamabad condemned it.
Beijing, keen on restoring stability in the crisis-ridden region, has called on both countries to exercise restraint.
Jiang, while avoiding specific reference to the India-Pakistan conflict, reinforced that message.
“Without South Asia’s development and stability, there cannot be peace and prosperity throughout Asia,” CCTV quoted him as telling Khan.
“We sincerely hope South Asia can preserve peace and stability, and its economy can develop speedily and healthily.”
China was willing to maintain contact and coordinate positions with Pakistan on the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan in order to safeguard regional peace and stability, Jiang said.
A spokesman for the Pakistan embassy told Reuters the delegation’s visit was part of a regular series of bilateral exchanges.
“It is completely routine,” the spokesman said.—Reuters
APP adds: Gen Aziz had an hour-long meeting with the Chinese president and discussed with him wide-ranging issues of bilateral, regional and international significance.
During the meeting, there was an in-depth exchange of views on South Asia, Afghanistan and efforts of international community to curb terrorism.
The meeting was held in an extremely cordial and friendly atmosphere, official sources told APP.
President Jiang Zemin assured Pakistan delegation that China fully supported its efforts to resolve differences with India, including the issue of Kashmir, through dialogue and peaceful means.
He also appreciated Pakistan’s principled approach towards handling the situation in the region.
AFGHANISTAN: AFP adds: Jiang Zemin was quoted by official news agency Xinhua as saying the people of Afghanistan must decide their own fate, while one of his top military commanders warned the United States against using the war on terrorism to dominate global affairs.
“Afghanistan’s fate should be ultimately decided by the Afghan people, and at the same time the United Nations role is indispensable to the political solution of Afghanistan,” Jiang said.
“China sincerely hopes that all factions in Afghanistan will place national interests and peace above everything else, and implement relevant agreements,” he further said.
His statements, Xinhua said, came in talks with Gen Aziz.
In reference to rising tensions between Pakistan and India, Jiang said that there will be “no peace and prosperity” in Asia “without the stability and development of South Asia” and urged both sides to maintain stability of the region.
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