ISLAMABAD: China on Monday urged “various parties and factions” in Pakistan to work together for the larger interest of development and stability in the country.

The remarks came from the Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi who is in Pakistan as a special guest at the 48th meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The statement was a veiled reference to the growing turmoil in Pakistan ahead of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan that have weakened his prospects of retaining power.

With parliament set on Friday to take up the motion filed this month by an alliance of opposition parties, Pakistan faces constitutional and administrative crises that threaten political turmoil.

“We hope that the various parties and factions in Pakistan can strengthen unity and coordination and maintain the larger interest of internal development and stability,” Wang said during a joint press conference with Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

He said Pakistan and China needed to join hands to strengthen cooperation under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Political turmoil in Pakistan worries Beijing, which has pledged about $60 billion for infrastructure and energy schemes in Pakistan, central to China’s wider Belt and Road initiative to develop land and sea trade routes in Asia and beyond.