Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) meets with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on May 15. Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

China and Pakistan will further deepen security cooperation on counter-terrorism, and call on the international community to build a united front against terrorism, combat all forms of terrorism with a "zero tolerance" attitude, and eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism by addressing both the symptoms and the root causes, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with the press with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after they held the fifth round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue in Beijing on Wednesday. Ishaq Dar is on an official visit to China from Monday to Thursday, his first foreign trip since taking office.

Wang said that the Pakistani side provided further details of the investigation into the terrorist attack that caused Chinese casualties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan on March 26, and once again expressed deep condolences, as well as promising to continue to do the utmost to find the culprits and bring them to justice, while protecting the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan.

Regarding other agreements reached between the two sides, Wang said that both countries will unswervingly support each other in safeguarding their own core interests, and China appreciates the fact that the Pakistani side firmly adheres to the one-China principle. China will also, as in the past, firmly support Pakistan in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, pursuing a path of development in line with its national conditions, combating terrorism and playing a greater role in international and regional affairs.

The two sides agreed to strengthen the docking of development strategies and policy synergy, create an upgraded version of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and help Pakistan better achieve economic growth, livelihood improvement, scientific and technological innovation and green development, while actively and steadily pushing forward third-party cooperation in the CPEC, Wang said.

Wang said that cooperation in the fields of industry, agriculture, mining, new energy and information technology should be strengthened according to local conditions to help Pakistan achieve independent, balanced and sustainable development.

The two countries will also continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral mechanisms, including the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Wang added.

Wang said that the two sides unanimously expressed their opposition to unilateralism, hegemony and power politics, as well as to any attempts to create blocs of antagonism and camps of confrontation, so as to jointly safeguard peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world at large.

China is confident that, under the leadership of the new government, Pakistan will enter a new phase of political unity, social stability, controlled security and sustainable development, Wang said. China is willing to work hand in hand with Pakistan to take the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to a new level, to benefit the people of both countries, Wang noted.

Global Times