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Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday congratulated Asif Ali Zardari on being elected as the President of Pakistan, saying that the “steel-like friendship” between the two countries is the choice of history and in view of the current changes in the world, these relations need to be strengthened. “Strategic importance has further increased”. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was on Saturday elected the country’s 14th president and is the first civilian to hold the post for the second time. Earlier, he had held this post from 2008 to 2013. Zardari, 68, was the joint candidate of PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
“China and Pakistan are good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers,” Xi said in his message to Zardari, according to state news agency Xinhua. The steely friendship between the two countries is a treasure of history and a priceless treasure for both,” he said. “The two countries have maintained close high-level contacts in recent years, on issues related to their core interests and major concerns,” he said. have supported each other, achieved meaningful results in the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and strengthened bilateral relations.
India-China relations are tense on many issues
India has raised objections to the US$60 billion CPEC linking China’s Xinjiang with Gwadar port in Balochistan as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Xi said in his message that as the world is going through rapid changes never seen before, the strategic importance of China-Pakistan relations has increased further. He said he greatly respects the development of China-Pakistan relations and looks forward to further strengthening the traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, enhancing practical cooperation in various fields, further strengthening the all-time strategic partnership between China and Pakistan, and building a new era. We stand ready to work together with Zardari to accelerate the building of a China-Pakistan community with even closer ties and a shared future.
Jinping also congratulated PM Shahbaz
Earlier, Xi had congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on being elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Amidst the chaos and serious economic crisis in Pakistan, China is seeing the return of PML-N and PPP to power as a relief. All three have close ties with Chinese leaders and strengthening strategic ties with China is widely seen as a strategic alliance against India. China had uneasy relations with the government of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, which was blamed for the slow pace of CPEC.
