By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China on Thursday reaffirmed their “ironclad” strategic partnership, pledging to deepen cooperation in political, economic, security and cultural spheres while jointly promoting regional peace and stability.

Addressing a joint press conference after the sixth round of Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said it was his “great pleasure and privilege” to host his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Islamabad.

Dar said the two sides held “fruitful and substantive discussions” covering the entire spectrum of bilateral ties, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), trade and investment, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges. “Our two sides enjoy complete unanimity of views and consensus on all important matters,” he added.

The dialogue, he noted, followed the trilateral meeting in Kabul earlier this week with the Afghan foreign minister. He said both countries were working with regional partners to strengthen peace, stability and prosperity, stressing that Pakistan would continue to support China on all its “core concerns.”

Dar expressed gratitude for China’s “firm support” to Pakistan’s sovereignty and reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to further enhance economic cooperation through CPEC’s second phase. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would soon visit China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and hold meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed the talks as “comprehensive and in-depth,” saying the friendship between the two countries was unbreakable and rooted in mutual trust. “China and Pakistan will always be ironclad brothers and partners,” he said.

Wang outlined four principles to guide future cooperation: maintaining mutual trust and support, focusing on development and win-win cooperation, safeguarding security, and strengthening coordination to address global challenges. He announced that the two sides would upgrade CPEC into a “growth corridor, livelihood corridor, innovation corridor, green corridor and open corridor,” aligning it with Pakistan’s development needs.

China, he said, would continue to support Pakistan in counter-terrorism efforts and ensure security of Chinese personnel and projects. Beijing also pledged emergency humanitarian assistance to flood-affected areas of Pakistan.

Responding to questions, Dar said Pakistan’s foreign policy priorities remained rooted in friendly ties with all countries but “closer alignment with China” was vital given the global geopolitical and economic challenges. Wang Yi added that China valued good relations with all South Asian nations, stressing that Beijing’s partnership with Pakistan was not “targeted at any third party.”

Both ministers confirmed that next year the two countries would mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations with a series of commemorative events.

“China and Pakistan are taking the lead in building a regional community with a shared future,” Wang said. “Our friendship has withstood the test of time and will only grow stronger.”