ISLAMABAD: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday backed Pakistan’s efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the United States (US), reaffirming Beijing’s “unbreakable” ties with Islamabad at a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Pakistan and China have jointly promoted a five-point peace proposal, calling for a ceasefire, dialogue, protection of civilian and nuclear facilities, safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and adherence to the United Nations charter during the US-Iran conflict.
At his meeting with Xi, Sharif was accompanied by Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, who recently traveled to Tehran for meetings with Iranian leadership. Pakistan, which hosted US-Iran talks in April, has led frantic efforts to end the crisis, with Washington reporting progress in negotiations late last week.
“I know that you have just returned from Iran and made positive efforts for the current peace. We still appreciate the constructive role played by Pakistan,” Xi said in televised comments from the meeting.
For Pakistan, engaging China in its mediation efforts is important given Beijing and Tehran’s close ties.
Xi welcomed the Pakistani leader as an “old friend” at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People and said the two countries had “understood,” “trusted” and “supported” each other over decades.
“No matter how the international situation changes, China always prioritizes the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighborhood diplomacy,” Xi said.
“China is ready to work with Pakistan to move faster to build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in a new era.”
Sharif, in turn, described China and Pakistan as two “iron brother” countries with a relationship that is “next to none.”
’I draw a lot of strength from your leadership,” Sharif told Xi. “In Pakistan, we have, by grace of God, we have brought lot of transformation, a lot of structural changes. It’s a long way to go.”
The meeting came during Sharif’s four-day visit to China, which began on May 23.
During his talks with Premier Li Qiang earlier on Monday, Sharif thanked the Chinese leadership for supporting Pakistan’s mediation efforts in the US-Iran crisis, and witnessed the signing and exchange of a wide range of agreements and
memorandums of understanding on trade, agriculture, climate cooperation, education, media, technology and institutional exchanges.
The agreements included new protocols aimed at expanding Pakistani agricultural exports to China, including sanitary and quarantine arrangements for dried fruits, nuts and maize exports, measures that could help Pakistani farmers and exporters gain greater access to the Chinese market, according to Sharif’s office.
The two countries also signed cooperation agreements in agriculture development and animal vaccines, reflecting Pakistan’s efforts to modernize farming and livestock sectors that remain central to its economy.
On Sunday, Pakistani and Chinese firms signed agreements and memorandums of understanding worth $1.22 billion covering renewable energy, electric vehicles, pharmaceutical manufacturing, agriculture and smart technologies.
