AP, BEIJING, China: Nov 01 (PNS) – Pakistan and China will continue to work together for promoting peace and stability in the region as well as to fight against terrorism.
“We hope the matters relating to bilateral cooperation on anti-terrorism will come under discussion during the talks to be held in Beijing on Monday between President Pervez Musharraf and the Chinese President Hu Jintao,” this was stated by Liu Jian, a senior official of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He told APP in a pre-visit briefing on Friday, that the visit would set a new direction in their bilateral relations, in dealing with various matters of common interest. ” We hope, the visit of President Musharraf would be highly successful in consolidating bilateral ties, especially in the economic sector.”
“We are also looking forward to promote their understanding on regional and international issues,” he said, adding, “China highly appreciates Pakistan's efforts and its role at international level for combating terrorism.” His country is prepared to work together with Pakistan promoting peace and stability, he added.
About the Kashmir issue, Liu Jian said, “We will continue to encourage and push both India and Pakistan to resolve this problem through dialogue and other peaceful means.” He said, China is prepared to facilitate them to resolve this dispute as early as possible.
Replying to a question about the agenda of the talks between President Musharraf and the Chinese leaders during his stay in Beijing, Liu said the two sides will lay special emphasis on the development of their economic ties. He agreed that the bilateral trade should match their prevailing excellent diplomatic relations. He hoped that the current volume of trade, i.e. 1.8 billion dollars will reach 2 billion dollars by the end of this year.
He hoped a number of agreements would be signed during the visit for promoting trade and enhancing Chinese investment in Pakistan.
To another question, Liu said that China will support Pakistan to join regional bodies, like Shanghai Cooperation Organizations. He said, “We believe Pakistan is an important country and its presence in the regional and international bodies could be helpful for achieving peace and development.
About the Sino-Pak defence relations, he said “these are very good”, which he hoped will continue to grow for their mutual benefits.
