Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations, the regional situation and other matters of mutual interest. Pakistan Radio reported.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO), the meeting was followed by a lunch banquet organized by President Xi in honor of the Prime Minister.
He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister of Planning, Development and Reform Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister of Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Commerce, Textile, Industry, Production and Investment Abdul Razzak Dawood, Special Assistant from The Prime Minister of Energy and Chairman of the Investment Board Zubair Gillani. The Chief of the Army General Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG ISI Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed and other officials were also present at the meeting.
According to a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister thanked President Xi and the Chinese government for their "principled stance" on the issue of Kashmir, particularly mentioning the position of China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi , on the subject at the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The prime minister said that China had supported Pakistan at all difficult times.
According to the press release, Prime Minister Imran informed Xi about the current situation in the country, sharing that Pakistan had emerged from a difficult economic situation.
"We will never forget China's financial cooperation in this regard," he said, adding that China had helped Pakistan without "any conditionality."
Prime Minister Imran said that China gave Pakistan the opportunity to get out of a very difficult economic situation and thanked Chinese support in the framework of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
"Pakistan and China are friends for all weather and strategic cooperation partners."
The prime minister congratulated the Chinese president for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and thanked him for the warm welcome that the Pakistani delegation received in Beijing.
President Xi praised the prime minister for talking about the relations of Pakistan and China during the UNGA, and said that both countries enjoy close friendly relations and cooperated with each other in different fields.
According to the FO press release, both leaders agreed that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan would promote economic development and connectivity in the region while expressing their determination to continue supporting the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
Xi's visit to India
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Qureshi, referring to the situation in Kashmir, said on Tuesday that the two countries have shared a joint strategy since India moved to revoke article 370. He said that when Prime Minister Imran spoke at the UNGA, the Chinese state council In its statement it had also mentioned Kashmir and expressed concern.
Qureshi also spoke briefly about President Xi's next "brief and informal" visit to India.
"It was his desire and ours to have mutual trust [ahead of the visit]", the foreign minister shared, adding that once the visit is over, the Chinese leaders will keep Pakistan fully informed.
"The nature of our relationships is such that we trust each other at every step," said Qureshi.
Qureshi said they were grateful for the invitation to China, adding that Prime Minister Imran had extended a counter invitation to his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, to visit Pakistan and would also extend an invitation to President Xi.
He shared that this was the third visit of the prime minister to China in 13 months and that Pakistan wanted to reciprocate the hospitality they had received from the Chinese leaders.
The prime minister meets with the Chinese prime minister
On Tuesday, the prime minister met with Prime Minister Li during which the two exchanged views on bilateral trade and economic partnership, and explored ways to increase Pakistan's exports to China.
According to a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister, both leaders agreed that the implementation of the second phase of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between China and Pakistan would generate more commercial, economic and investment opportunities between the two countries. Other areas of potential collaboration discussed at the meeting included railroads, steel, oil and gas, industry and science and technology.
Prime Minister Imran also held a series of meetings with the heads of the main groups of companies in China working in the oil and gas, mining, iron and steel, textiles, energy and energy sectors, and invited them to invest in Pakistan .
Qureshi said several memorandums of understanding (MoU) had been signed, including in the education sector, for a desalination plant, one for disabled people and another for narcotics control.
Read: "I wish I could follow President Xi's example and put 500 corrupt people in Pakistan in jail," says Prime Minister Imran
The prime minister addressed the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade after his arrival in Beijing, during which he expressed his desire to put 500 corrupt people in Pakistan behind bars, "as President Xi had done" , to rid the country of corruption. He said it was "one of the biggest impediments to investment."
Prime Minister Imran meets with the president of the APN
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran met with the president of the National People's Congress, Li Zhanshu, in the Great Hall of the People.
The Prime Minister congratulated President Li on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
He said that China's economic transformation in recent decades had been very impressive and worth emulating. In particular, he noted that Pakistan wanted to learn from China's experience in poverty alleviation and expressed its determination to reduce poverty in Pakistan following China's model.
The prime minister stressed that the completion of CPEC was the top priority of his government and he hoped that Phase II of CPEC will pave the way to promote greater socio-economic development and livelihood opportunities for the people of Pakistan.
President Li Zhanshu reaffirmed the commitment of the Chinese leadership to support Pakistan in matters of its central national interest. Li said China would support Pakistan in initiatives proposed by Prime Minister Imran. The president also said that both China and Pakistan could propose new projects that could be included in the CPEC.
Prime Minister Imran Khan invited the president of the NPC to visit Pakistan. The president graciously accepted the invitation.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1509886/pm-imran-president-xi-discuss-bilateral-relations