President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and discussed the positive trajectory of the bilateral relationship, high-quality development of CPEC 2.0, and the significance of people-to-people linkages and cultural exchanges.

In the meeting held at the Great Hall of the People during the five-day official visit of President Zardari to China, two leaders also discussed regional and international issues of common interest, and opportunities to even further expand the scope of bilateral partnership, especially through continued high-level exchanges.

President Zardari reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to its all-weather strategic cooperative partnership with China and underlined the unique, time-tested and special relationship between the two countries.

He also commended China’s exemplary development, progress and prosperity, calling it a manifestation of the vision of the Chinese leadership and the dynamism of the Chinese people.

He also paid rich tribute to President Xi for China’s profound contributions to global development under the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). He termed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a “shining model of the BRI’s visionary concept of win-win cooperation”.

Both sides also discussed the high-quality development of CPEC 2.0 and its vital role in promoting regional connectivity, shared benefits and common prosperity, including through partnerships with other countries.

They underlined the significance of people-to-people linkages and cultural exchanges for strengthening the China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the New Era.

President Zardari extended the invitation to President Xi to visit Pakistan, emphasising that the people and government of Pakistan hold him in high esteem as a visionary leader and as a special friend of Pakistan.

Speaking during the meeting, President Xi said China and Pakistan enjoy ironclad friendship and were all-weather strategic cooperative partners.

“In recent years, the two countries have provided firm political support for each other, maintained close high-level exchanges, and advanced the construction of the CEPC and cooperation in various fields, setting a good example for relations between countries,” Chinese news agency quoted Xi as saying.

Furthermore, he said, China stands ready to work with Pakistan to advance their respective modernisation drives, accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability and prosperity.

The meeting was followed by an MoU signing ceremony where the two leaders witnessed the signing of MoUs to enhance cooperation in the fields of science & technology, media, clean energy and socio-economic development, among others.

Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari was warmly welcomed by President Xi and presented with the guard of honour upon his arrival. A group of children also extended a warm welcome and offered a heartfelt reception to the President.

After the ceremony, President Xi Jinping hosted a state banquet in honour of President Asif Ali Zardari and his accompanying delegation.

‘Intelligence sharing’

Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is currently accompanying President Zardari on five-day visit to China, met his Chinese counterpart, Qi Yanjun, in Beijing to discuss measures to bolster security.

According to an official statement, both sides agreed to enhance intelligence sharing to address growing threats. They also discussed cooperation to further secure the border between the two countries.

Moreover, the use of modern technology for police and paramilitary forces was also discussed. A detailed discussion was held on acquiring modern equipment and technology for the police from China.

Speaking on the occasion, Naqvi said that Pakistan would purchase modern technology and equipment for the police from China.

During the meeting, cooperation with the National Police Academy was also discussed. It was decided to increase cooperation between the Beijing police and Islamabad police. Both sides also expressed satisfaction over the Joint Working Group meeting held in January.