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Updated 07 Sep, 2014 09:08pm

Postponement of Chinese president's visit will not affect ties: senior diplomat

ISLAMABAD: Senior Chinese diplomat Yao Wen has said that the postponement of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan would not affect bilateral ties.

"All the projects agreed between the two countries will be pushed forward and implemented in letter and spirit,” Yao Wen deputy chief of the mission at Chinese Embassy Islamabad told the media.

He said the visit will have no negative impact on the deep-rooted and time-tested relationship.

"How can the postponement of a single visit affect decades of historical strategic partnership," Yao Wen said, adding the number of top-level visits between the two countries in recent years were unprecedented.

Yao Wen said they are actively engaged in finding a way to work on projects which are to be signed during President Xi Jingping scheduled visit to Pakistan.

“Let’s work together to foil those attempts which aimed at harming our relationship, he said.

Yao Wen expressed confidence that the new date of the Chinese president’s visit will be decided as soon as the political situation in Pakistan returns to normal.

“We are sure the Pakistani people have the capacity to resolve their political issues amicably.

“Politics is any internal matter of Pakistan and no foreign country is entitled to interfere in it," Yao Wen said.

Answering another question, he said Pak-China cooperation is broad-based; it cannot be defined in terms of loans or investment.

“It is not the question of short-term interest or one country benefit. We are working for mutually beneficial cooperative partnership.

“We want to help Pakistan; its economic interests are important to us...we will keep maintaining the relationship’s momentum, through all possible means.

Both countries are working to take up economic projects, such as the construction of Lahore-Karachi motorway and two power plants at Port Qasim.

“Pakistan is our largest investment destination in South Asia and will remain so in the years to come. A stable and prosperous Pakistan is in the interest of China,” he added.‏

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