China says ready to work on ‘upgraded’ economic corridor with Pakistan

BEIJING: China is ready to pool efforts with Pakistan to promote an “upgraded version” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, according to his ministry.

Wang met his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Wednesday. The latter arrived in Beijing on Monday on an official four-day visit to co-chair the 5th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue.

Meanwhile, the two friendly countries agreed to sustain the growing momentum of bilateral relations in all areas of cooperation and to further deepen the iron-clad friendship. The bilateral ties were discussed in a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister, FM Ishaq Dar and Chinese Executive Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang here. Senior officials from both sides were present in the meeting. Dar expressed condolences and outrage on the Shangla attack on March 26, 2024 and assured zero tolerance for perpetrators and lauded the services of fallen Chinese workers. The two leaders held an in-depth discussion on various aspects of bilateral relations, including CPEC Phase II, trade, economic cooperation and investment.

Connectivity through the Khunjerab border crossing and a simplified visa regime were also discussed. Dar noted the progress made by CPEC in energy and infrastructure and expressed confidence in the positive dividends under Phase II in the fields of industry, agriculture and mineral development.

Vice Premier Ding expressed China’s full support to Pakistan in all areas of cooperation, including economy, trade and investment, and reaffirmed the importance of fast-track implementation of CPEC projects for mutual prosperity and development.

Earlier, in a meeting with Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Ambassador Zhang Ming, Dar expressed Pakistan’s strong commitment to advancing SCO’s security and development cooperation agenda. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the SCO Charter and the organisation’s fundamental ideals as enunciated in the ‘Shanghai Spirit.’