Beijing, October 19th—Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, met here today with Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, at request.

Kakar said, Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, and the friendship between Pakistan and China is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. At the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, I listened to General Secretary Xi Jinping’s keynote speech. I was deeply inspired by General Secretary Xi Jinping’s vision and measures for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past 10 years, the BRI has made important contributions to global economic growth, greatly benefiting Pakistan's economic and social development. During this period, China has also made great achievements on the road to modernization, which has not only changed China, but also changed the Asia and the world to a great extent. Pakistan should seize and make good use of the opportunities of China's development to achieve greater development. The Pakistani government encourages political parties of both sides to strengthen experience exchange in state governance and administration, and underlines the necessity to learn from China's experience in poverty eradication, to improve Pakistan's governance capability. The political parties of the two countries should also promote mutual understanding between the two peoples, including facilitating exchanges between experts, scholars and youth, strengthening news media cooperation, and striving to create a good public opinion atmosphere and public opinion foundation for the development of bilateral relations.

Liu said, yesterday, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, announcing eight major steps China will take to support joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. This has opened up new development prospects for the BRI construction, drawn widespread attention, and received warm response. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a pilot project of the BRI that has actively contributed to Pakistan’s economic and social development, and injected important impetus into the in-depth development of China-Pakistan relations. The Chinese side is willing to work with the Pakistani side to fully implement the important measures proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, promote the upgrading of the CPEC, and help Pakistan achieve independent, safe and sustainable development.

Liu said, in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of both sides, China-Pakistan relations have maintained good development momentum, with cooperation in various fields vigorously carried out. China-Pakistan relations have won unanimous support from the people of the two countries. The CPC maintains close communication with Pakistan's major political parties and political organizations, playing a unique role in consolidating the political foundation of bilateral relations and promoting practical cooperation in various areas. We are willing to deepen exchanges with all political parties in Pakistan, strengthen mutual learning, promote cooperation in economy, society and people's livelihood through political party channels, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, so as to promote China-Pakistan relations for stable development in the long term.

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