An Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) runs on the track in Lahore, Pakistan, Feb. 2, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

As Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to China concluded on Saturday, China and Pakistan have issued a joint statement, stressing the authority of the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 not to be disputed or challenged, while vowing to build together the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into an exemplary project of high-quality building of Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides reiterated their All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and ironclad friendship, with the Chinese side stressing that this pair of relationship is "a priority in its foreign relations," and the Pakistani side underscoring it as "the cornerstone of its foreign policy," Xinhua News Agency reported.

Recognizing the CPEC as "a pioneering project of the Belt and Road Initiative," the joint statement said the project has changed the development landscape of Pakistan, benefited its people's well-being, and promoted the integrated development of the two countries. 

After the successful first decade of CPEC, the two sides are committed to carrying out the eight major steps for supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, forging an "upgraded version" of the CPEC by jointly building a corridor that is innovative, green and open, aligning with Pakistan's 5Es Framework based on Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment, Energy, and Equity & Empowerment to better benefit the two countries and their peoples.

China and Pakistan will work together to build CPEC into an exemplary project of high-quality building of Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides have also recognized the significance of Gwadar Port as an important node in cross-regional connectivity. They reiterated the need to speed up the development of the auxiliary infrastructure of the Gwadar Port in order to fully realize the potential of the coastal city, especially as a transshipment hub with its own shipyard.

In the joint statement, they also reaffirmed their unyielding support for each other on issues concerning their respective core interests. On the Taiwan question in particular, both sides stressed that the authority of the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 brooks no dispute or challenge. 

Pakistan reaffirmed its firm commitment to the one-China principle, and reiterated that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the China's territory, and that Pakistan firmly supports the Chinese government's every effort to achieve national reunification and opposes any form of "Taiwan independence."

Shedding lights on counter-terrorism efforts, the two sides reiterated their commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations with a "zero tolerance" attitude, and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism and security through a comprehensive approach. 

Meanwhile, China and Pakistan expressed their firm opposition to the double standards on counter-terrorism, and opposed the politicization and instrumentalization of this effort. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Shehbaz in Beijing on Friday, noting that China is willing to work with Pakistan to enhance the synergy of their development strategies, focus on upgrading the CPEC, expand trade and investment cooperation, and deepen cooperation on industry, agriculture, aerospace, information technology, ecology and environmental protection.

He noted that China is willing to import more quality products from Pakistan and supports Chinese enterprises to invest more in the country.

Following their talks, Premier Li and Prime Minister Shehbaz attended a signing ceremony for a number of bilateral cooperation documents in such fields as transport, industry, agriculture, market regulation, livelihoods, capacity-building, and film and television, according to Xinhua. 

In an exclusive interview with the Global Times in Beijing, Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistani minister for planning, development and special initiatives, who accompanied Shehbaz on his China visit, emphasized that in the next phase, the focus of CPEC cooperation will be on industry, agriculture and information technology. 

Iqbal cited the recent successful launch of a Pakistani satellite into space using a Chinese rocket as an example, saying, people used to say that the relationship between Pakistan and China was higher than the Himalayas. "Now we are also cooperating in space technology... Our cooperation has reached space, even higher than the sky."