ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari met with top officials from China’s Xinjiang region on Thursday, reaffirming their partnership to combat terrorism and extremism while expanding economic cooperation.

According to the Presidency, President Zardari met with Chen Xiaojiang, secretary of the Communist Party in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the region’s governor Erkin Tuniyaz.

Their discussions centred on increasing collaboration in agriculture, manufacturing, livestock, industry, mining and new technologies.

Both leaders stressed their joint security concerns. Chen affirmed that China and Pakistan “would continue to maintain zero tolerance against terrorist groups targeting both countries,” the release said.

President Zardari echoed that Pakistan will “continue to work with China in countering terrorism and extremism”.

Chen highlighted Xinjiang’s economic growth, noting it has become a “hub of prosperity, social stability and lasting peace”, with its GDP surpassing 5.6 trillion yuan.

He said the region looks forward to deepening government-to-government and business-to-business cooperation with Pakistan, particularly in the fields of agriculture, livestock, mining and industry.

Highlighting Xinjiang’s central role in CPEC, the president encouraged greater industrial collaboration and pointed to the potential of Special Economic Zones in Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders the Chinese region.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025