BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said his country was ready to work with Pakistan to deepen the building of “China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future” and to jointly promote cooperation among regional countries.

President Xi, in a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, said both Pakistan and China were working to maintain the “momentum of peace and development in the region”.

He said that since the outbreak of Covid-19, the global fight against coronavirus had proved that mutual support, solidarity and cooperation were the only way to defeat the pandemic.

The Chinese president responded to a special letter of congratulations written by President Alvi on the second conference of the CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism which, he said, fully demonstrated the great importance and support he (Dr Alvi) rendered to China-Pakistan relations and CPEC.

President Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said China and Pakistan were “good brothers” and partners, and had a “special friendship”.

Chinese leader underlines mutual cooperation for regional peace

He said as a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRl), CPEC was of great significance to the further development of the China-Pakistan All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and the building of a closer China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future.

He said the political parties of China and Pakistan had carried out friendly consultations on a regular basis, which had consolidated political consensus between the two countries to vigorously promote the steady and long-term development of the CPEC and high-quality BRI cooperation.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2020