LAHORE: China has reassured its all-out help for Pakistan to enable it to meet all regional and international challenges.

The assurance came from Zhao Lijian, the head of the Neighbour Countries Desk in the Foreign Affairs Ministry of China, during a meeting with foreign affairs expert Muhammad Mehdi in Beijing.

“Pakistan, as a resilient country, has great potential to develop its economy. Being a time-tested friend, China will always firmly hold the hand of Pakistan. Given the regional and international challenges, Islamabad is not alone because Beijing is standing by it to help it grow and progress,” Mr Mehdi quoted the Chinese foreign ministry official as saying in the meeting.

On his return from a visit to China, Mr Mehdi stated in a statement here on Friday that the host country believed that Pakistan was economically strong enough that it would never default and that the temporary phase of economic hardships would soon be over.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2023