Shehbaz Sharif stresses party exchanges to strengthen Pak-China ties
Liu Haixing, minister of the Communist Party of China's International Department, called on the prime minister in Islamabad.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for sustained political engagement and party-to-party exchanges to strengthen Pakistan's ties with China on Monday, the state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Sharif made the remarks while meeting Liu Haixing, minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who called on him in Islamabad.
Sharif said the friendship between the two countries rests on mutual trust, respect and deep-rooted bonds between their peoples.
He said the International Department had played an important role in building institutional links and encouraging cooperation between the political leaderships of the two countries.
Sharif said Pakistan was committed to working closely with China on trade, investment, connectivity, infrastructure, information technology and agriculture modernization.
Liu conveyed greetings from the Chinese leadership and said China would further deepen its longstanding friendship with Pakistan.
He welcomed the momentum in high-level and party-to-party exchanges, which he said aimed to bolster the friendship between the two countries.
Both sides exchanged views on regional and international developments and agreed to maintain close coordination and cooperation at bilateral and multilateral forums, the broadcaster said.
Sharif also hosted a banquet in honor of Liu and the accompanying Chinese delegation.
The International Department is the Communist Party of China's body for relations with foreign political parties, and Pakistan and China have long described their ties as an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.
