4, April 2005	Monday	24 Safar 1426

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BEIJING, April 3: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday that he was looking forward to holding extensive talks with the Pakistani leadership in Islamabad, taking friendship and cooperation of the two countries to new heights.

On the eve of his three-day official visit to Pakistan, starting Tuesday, he told APP in an interview that he will work to reinforce the Sino-Pakistan friendship which had “withstood the test of time and international vicissitudes”.

Covering wide-ranging topics of bilateral interest, the Chinese premier said his government wished to take some new measures to expand and upgrade their existing partnership.

While underlining the importance of Gwadar port in economic interactions, Wen Jiabao hoped that “our all-weather and all-dimensional cooperation” will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for the people.

“China and Pakistan are indeed good friends, good neighbours and good partners,” he remarked.

“Greater emphasis should be put on closer trade and economic ties while deepening mutually beneficial cooperation across-the-board,” he added.

The Chinese government values economic collaboration with Pakistan and stands ready to work together to upgrade the existing cooperation, he said.

Premier Wen Jiabao observed that “our two-way trade has grown quite fast”. In 2004, it stood at $3.06 billion, up by 26 per cent over the previous year, and retained a sound momentum of growth.

He hoped that the two sides would adopt more effective measures to expand the bilateral trade, bringing the economic cooperation to a higher level.

He said the Gwadar port was an important project. “We are happy to see the smooth completion of phase-I of the project, thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides. I believe that the port will play a key role in promoting social and economic progress in the region and provide new opportunities for China-Pakistan trade and commerce,” he added.

When asked how China perceived its role in terms of peace and development in Asia, particularly in South Asia, Wen Jiabao said his country was committed to a path of peaceful development, developing itself by maintaining world peace and promoting a peaceful and prosperous world through its own development.

“China will pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and work hard to safeguard world peace and achieve common development,” he added. “To develop itself, China needs an international environment of long-term stability, a stable surrounding environment first and foremost,” he said.

Given its huge population, vast landmass, rich resources and enormous development potential, South Asia is an important part of Asia and an important part of the world, he said.

“We are all developing countries, sharing the same aspiration for peace, stability and development,” he said. —APP