BEIJING, Feb 20: Pakistan and China on Monday vowed to reinforce and deepen their strategic partnership through increased cooperation in political, diplomatic and economic fields and the Chinese president supported the peace dialogue between Pakistan and India to find a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao held one-to-one talks at the Great Hall of the People that was originally scheduled for 30 minutes but lasted about an hour before they were joined in by their respective delegations.

“We had an in-depth exchange of ideas on a number of issues and I am very interested in further pursing our discussions covering bilateral relations and questions of shared interests,” President Hu said in his opening remarks at the start of the formal talks. He called for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

“China welcomes Pakistan and India to improve their relations through (dialogue) and to negotiate to settle all their outstanding issues including Kashmir,” Chinese Foreign Office Spokesman Qin Gang quoted the Chinese leader as having said.

The Chinese leader, describing President Musharraf as an old friend of the Chinese people for ‘many many years’, appreciated his efforts for the development of Pakistan-China friendship.

“President Musharraf has made important contribution to the development of our relations,” he added.

Reciprocating the warmth shown by the Chinese leader, President Musharraf said the people of Pakistan had deep affection and love for the Chinese people and were proud of their time-tested ties.

He said the government and people of Pakistan were grateful to the Chinese government and the people for their support for earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.

Gen Musharraf briefed President Hu about Pakistan’s initiative for peace and stability in the region and efforts to resolve all disputes with India, including Kashmir, through peaceful means.

He underlined the need for the two countries to make more efforts to upgrade the level of their economic and trade cooperation to make it compatible with their excellent political and diplomatic relations.

He said both sides needed to fully implement the Early Harvest Programme and push forward the ongoing negotiations for an early conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

President Musharraf said Pakistan would like to further enhance cooperation with China in trade and economic fields, particularly in infrastructure and energy sectors.

He strongly condemned the recent killing of Chinese engineers, and said that the government and every Pakistani regretted the incident.

“We have a resolve to get to the depth of the issue and bring all the culprits to book,” he assured the Chinese president.

President Musharraf said it was an act of a few who did not want to see development and progress in Pakistan and the increasing cooperation between two countries.

The two sides covered the entire spectrum of their relations and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

They expressed shared perceptions on major issues and agreed to continue cooperation for UN reforms to make it a more effective and representative body.

They agreed to work closer and maintain mutual support and cooperation in the fields of international and regional affairs.

They also agreed to continue their cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts through dialogue and regular communication at various levels.—APP