Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday reaffirmed Beijing’s support to Pakistan during a meeting with Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua hours after US President Donald Trump lambasted Pakistan for allegedly offering safe haven to “agents of chaos” in his South Asia policy announcement.
Earlier, as Beijing came to Islamabad’s defence in light of Trump’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying asserted that Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made “great sacrifices” and “important contributions” in the fight, according to a Foreign Ministry handout.
Chunying called on the international community to recognise Pakistan’s role in the fight against terrorism.
During Tuesday’s meeting in China, Yi and Janjua agreed that Pakistan and China would continue cooperating with each other closely in efforts to establish peace in Afghanistan.
They emphasised the importance of the trilateral Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers’ forum, which was established in June when Yi visited Islamabad on a mission to defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The trilateral forum is apparently meant to sustain Beijing’s mediation space in Pak-Afghan disputes.
During their meeting, Janjua and Yi also discussed bilateral relations between China and Pakistan, regional and global issues and the situation in India-held Kashmir.
Reiterating Chunying’s statement, Yi lauded Pakistan’s contributions and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, adding that the international community should fully recognise these efforts.
Janjua highlighted the importance of Pak-China friendship and reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to China on all issues.
The foreign secretary said that the recent visit of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang on the occasion of Pakistan’s 70th Independence Day anniversary, during which he addressed a flag-hoisting ceremony in Islamabad, further solidified the time-tested friendship between Pakistan and China.
Source: DAWN
