In Islamabad, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who is on an official visit to Pakistan, met with Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, as announced by the military’s media wing on Friday.
According to a statement from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the discussions focused on “regional security, counter-terrorism, and other matters of mutual interest.”
The statement highlighted that both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their “all-weather strategic partnership” and enhancing coordination at regional and international forums.
FM Wang Yi reiterated China’s steadfast support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and development, while the COAS expressed gratitude for Beijing’s consistent support.
“The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.”
This meeting took place a day after the Chinese Foreign Minister held discussions with Pakistan’s top officials, including the Prime Minister, President, and Deputy Prime Minister.
A day earlier, the Chinese FM had a strategic dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, where both countries reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the high-quality development of the upgraded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
During the meeting, they reviewed all aspects of Pakistan-China relations and discussed key regional and global issues. They also exchanged in-depth views on various facets of bilateral cooperation, including CPEC 2.0, trade and economic relations, multilateral cooperation, and people-to-people ties.
Addressing a joint press conference with FM Wang Yi, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Senator Dar emphasized that both countries share a complete consensus on all major bilateral, regional, and global matters.
“We are heartened by Yi’s vision for advancing our bilateral cooperation, especially upgrading CPEC to its next phase,” Dar noted.
Chinese FM Wang described CPEC as the cornerstone of the Pakistan-China strategic partnership, stating that the current priority is to advance the high-quality development of the Corridor.
He said that during the 6th strategic dialogues, both sides agreed to upgrade CPEC into “a growth corridor, livelihood-enhancing corridor, green corridor, and open corridor.”
“We will work hard to deepen our industrial, agricultural, and mining cooperation to improve the welfare of the Pakistani people, accelerate Pakistan’s capacity for self-sustained development, and increase Pakistan’s economic resilience,” he said. He added that China also supports the development and operation of the Gwadar port and the promotion of the KKH (Karakoram Highway) realignment project. Furthermore, the Chinese foreign minister welcomed third-party participation in the ML-1 (Main Line Railway) project.
