President Zardari reiterates Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral ties with China

BEIJING, Feb 06 (SABAH): President Asif Ali Zardari held a bilateral meeting with the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Li Qiang, at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday.

President Asif Ali Zardari highlighted the enduring and deep-rooted China-Pakistan “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership,” nurtured by successive generations of the leaders of both countries. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening bilateral ties, emphasizing the time-tested, deep-rooted, and enduring partnership between the two countries. The President highlighted the pivotal role of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in promoting regional connectivity and economic growth and expressed appreciation for China’s continued support towards Pakistan’s development agenda.

The two sides discussed the high-quality development under CPEC 2.0, with a focus on deepening cooperation in renewable energy, science & technology, infrastructure, and agriculture sectors to further advance shared progress and common prosperity. They also discussed the opportunities to enhance trade and economic cooperation through B2B and private sector linkages. Both sides underlined the importance of expanding people-to-people and cultural exchanges to build an even closer China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the New Era.

Meanwhile Pakistan and China have signed different Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to enhance cooperation between the two countries in multiple fields including renewable energy and industry.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah also witnessed the signing ceremony.

During the ceremony, MoU was signed between Pakistan’s Thatta Cement Company and China’s Qinggong Construction Group for installation of a production line to increase cement production by 5000 tons per day in Pakistan.

The Sindh Energy Department and China’s Mingyang Renewable Energy Company signed another MoU for cooperation on various renewable energy projects in Pakistan.

During the ceremony, Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the Government of Sindh and a Chinese company for the Coal Gasification and establishment of Urea production plant project.