LAHORE: A six-member Chinese delegation led by Chen Feng Xiang, vice-minister of the Communist Party of China called on Hamza Shahbaz Sharif at the central secretariat of the PML-N in Model Town here on Sunday.

Federal ministers Saira Afzal Tarar, Anousha Rehman, and party leaders including Saranjam Khan, Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasir, Saood Majeed and others were also present.

Mr Sharif welcomed the visitors and hoped that relations between the two countries would get a more meaningful expression after Economic Corridor becomes a realization in coming years.

The visitors were also briefed about the history of PML-N, its structure and functioning of its offices. The vice-minister was also told that the people of Pakistan were looking forward to welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mr Xiang mentioned that among 600 political parties of 106 countries the CPC shared a special bond with PML-N.

He extended condolences on the tragic incident of Peshawar and expressed sympathy for the aggrieved families.

The meeting agreed to strengthen party-to-party contact between Communist party of China and the PML-N.

The delegates agreed on continued cooperation and to have more institutionalized exchanges between the members of both the parties so that they could mutually benefit from experiences of each other.

Published in Dawn, December 22th, 2014