ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: President Gen Pervez Musharraf and President Hu Jintao have pledged to build on the robust and time-tested Pakistan-China friendship and expand the strategic partnership.

At a banquet President Musharraf hosted at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in the honour of President Hu, who had arrived earlier on Thursday, the two leaders described Pakistan-China ties as an example of good neighbourly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation.

“Friendly ties between Pakistan and China is a shining example of good neighbourly relations. Our friendship has remained constant and unchanged regardless of the transformed global circumstances,” Gen Musharraf said.

He said a strong trust in each other formed the bedrock of bilateral relations which the two countries had nurtured with care and devotion.

Mr Hu said his country was proud to have in Pakistan a great and true friend, and paid tribute to leaders of the older generation in both countries who laid solid foundations for the China-Pakistan friendship.

“Let us build on past achievement and strengthen traditional friendship, advanced with the time, expand and enrich China-Pakistan strategic partnership so that our friendship will pass on from generation to generation,” he said.

President Hu said Pakistan-China relations served as an example of friendly co-existence and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries with different social systems.

“We are good neighbours, close friends, trusted partners and dear brothers.”

He praised the people of Pakistan for working with perseverance and in a pioneering spirit to uphold national dignity and sovereignty and achieve great progress in development.

“In the new century, the Pakistani people, rallying under the leadership of President Musharraf, have effectively responded to serious and complex developments, both at home and internationally, and made remarkable accomplishment in maintaining social stability and promoting economic development and ethnic harmony,” he said.

President Musharraf expressed his gratitude for the support China has extended to Pakistan in all fields.

“There are many important symbols of this cooperation. The Karakoram Highway, Gwadar Port and the Chashma power plant are only a few of the projects that we have completed with your help,” he said.

He pointed put that convergence of interests of the two countries on the global and regional levels would advance the international agenda for peace and prosperity.

The president thanked China for its support to Pakistan for entry to the Asia-Europe Meeting and welcomed Beijing's association with Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) as an observer.

He said that international security cooperation should be based on mutual trust and on removal of concerns through consultation and coordination “so that we can jointly respond to threats and challenges to global security”.

Pakistan, he said, desired peaceful environment in the region. Consistent with this aspiration Pakistan sought peaceful resolution of all issues with India, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Similarly, he stressed, a stable Afghanistan would open up vast opportunities for Pakistan as well as other countries in the region.

President Musharraf also called for early restoration of sovereignty in Iraq and implementation of the roadmap for peace in the Middle East.

He said history and circumstances had placed Pakistan in the forefront of war against terrorism and expressed the resolve to fight this grave threat.

He lauded Chinese contribution to global peace and development.—APP