April 12, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 5, 1429

SANYA (China), April 11: China respects, understands and supports all measures taken by the Pakistani government to maintain domestic peace and stability and promote economic development, President Hu Jintao said here on Friday.

After a briefing by President Pervez Musharraf on the situation in Pakistan, President Hu said China admired the achievements made by President Musharraf and the Pakistani government in the domestic and diplomatic fields over the past years.

He said Pakistan would make continuous progress in social and economic development under the leadership of President Musharraf and the government.

China and Pakistan reiterated their commitment to the all-weather friendship and agreed to deepen bilateral strategic partnership.

He said China attached great importance to its relationship with Pakistan, always gave it a priority in its foreign policy and always handled and promoted the relationship from a strategic and long-term point of view.

He said the principles would not change, no matter what happened in the international and domestic situation of the two countries.President Musharraf said developing the strategic partnership with China was the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

He said Pakistan hoped that the two sides could explore new ways to strengthen their cooperation, especially in trade, investment, energy, infrastructure construction, youth exchange, education and culture.

He said Pakistan firmly opposed any attempt to politicise the Beijing Olympic Games and any action to disrupt the event.

Xinhua news agency quoted President Musharraf as saying that Pakistan would do its best to ensure the success of the relay in Pakistan of the Olympic torch later this month.

He said Pakistan hoped and believed that the Beijing Olympic Games would achieve success and it was willing to provide support and cooperation in this regard.

The president also expressed Pakistan’s firm support for China to maintain its national unity.

He said Pakistan regarded Tibet as an inalienable part of Chinese territory and firmly opposed any actions to split China.

Pakistan would strengthen cooperation with China in fighting terrorist and extremist forces, he said.

After two rounds of talks on a wide range of issues, including cooperation against extremism and terrorism, President Hu hosted a dinner in honour of President Pervez Musharraf and his entourage.

Talking to journalists, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the two sides discussed Chinese assistance for power generation in Pakistan, including nuclear, coal and alternative energy.

China had agreed to provide assistance to cope with the fast-growing demand in the energy sector, he said.—Agencies