Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong on Tuesday said China supported Pakistan's greater constructive role in regional and international affairs. Speaking at the opening ceremony of seminar titled "Building China-Pakistan Community of Shared Destiny" here, he said China and Pakistan played important roles in maintaining peace and justice in the region and the world.
He said: "We work together to promote Afghanistan reconciliation process, and achieve peace, stability and development at an early date." He said, "We would like to work with Pakistan to safeguard peace, stability, development and prosperity in the world. What does a peaceful, developing and increasingly powerful China mean to Pakistan? I think it means more opportunities for development, strong mutual support and expanding common interests."
The ambassador said Pakistan was bound to benefit from China's development. The China-Pakistan relationship would also be consolidated, enhanced and upgraded in the course of China's development, he said, adding both China and Pakistan were developing countries, shouldering the shared task of development. "As a close and friendly neighbour, we expect a Pakistan that lives up to its full potential, a Pakistan that is stable, strong and prosperous, a Pakistan realising its Asian Tiger Dream. The Chinese government and people will firmly stand by your side," he added.
He said linked by the ancient Silk Road, China and Pakistan had a long history of friendly exchanges. China-Pakistan relationship, over the changing times and international politics, set a good example for state-to-state relations. "Over the past year, with our joint efforts, it has made much new progress," he noted. President Xi Jinping has met President Mamnoon Hussain twice this year. Premier Li Keqiang has also met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the Boao Forum. These high-level exchanges have injected impetus for China-Pakistan strategic co-operation.
He said: "We will maintain the sound momentum of frequent high-level exchanges, and make full use of the existing dialogue and co-operation mechanism. We will firmly support each other's core interests and concerns, further enhancing political co-operation and mutual trust. Second are mutual benefit and win-win results in economy. The bilateral trade volume has reached $6 billion from January to May in 2014, with growth rate of 12.66 percent. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor goes well with substantive results."
The ambassador said, "Currently, we are promoting construction and operation of Gwadar Port, making breakthroughs in Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project and starting to construct RuYi-Masood Textile Industrial Park in Faisalabad, and lots of power plants like Thermal Power Plant in Port Qasim and Solar Power in Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur."
Sun Weidong said with the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, more and more Chinese citizens had come to live and work in Pakistan. "We appreciate Pakistan's efforts to create a good environment for co-operation and ensure their security. We should further expand friendly exchanges, inherit and carry forward the traditional friendship between the two countries."