Xi hails China's 'unbreakable' friendship with Pak as he meets PM Shehbaz, Munir

President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China's "unbreakable" friendship with Pakistan, pledging to maintain high-level exchanges and support Islamabad's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed China's ''unbreakable'' friendship with Pakistan and commended Islamabad for taking the initiative to play a mediating role in restoring peace in West Asia as he met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi called Shehbaz an ''old friend'' and said the two countries have enjoyed ''mutual understanding, trust and support, and forged an unbreakable traditional friendship. Their strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation have strongly promoted the development of both nations.''.

Xi also said that China firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. ''No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will always place priority on the development of China-Pakistan relations in its diplomacy with neighbouring countries,'' he said.

China is ready to maintain high-level exchanges with Pakistan, strengthen strategic communication, and steer the bilateral relationship forward in the right direction, an official statement here quoted him as saying.

The two sides should conduct security cooperation even better and in broader areas and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, he said.

The two sides should accelerate the development of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era and deliver more outcomes from their all-weather cooperation to better benefit the two peoples, contribute to regional peace and stability, and set a fine example for building a community with a shared future with neighbouring countries.

China appreciates Pakistan for demonstrating a proactive spirit and mediating for peace to return to West Asia, Xi told Shehbaz, who was accompanied by Field Marshal Munir who concluded his visit to Iran on Saturday.

''I know that you have just returned from Iran and made positive efforts to mediate for peace. We appreciate the constructive role of Pakistan,'' Xi told Munir.

Following a rickety ceasefire achieved in the US-Israeli war on Iran in April, Munir has been engaged in mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran. Weeks into Islamabad's diplomatic efforts, the US has reported progress in negotiations with Iran.

''The two sides should maintain close communication and coordination, jointly oppose unilateralism and the Cold War mentality...,'' Xi said in an apparent reference to unilateral policies pursued by US President Donald Trump.

Pakistan, in recent years, moved closer to the US and Trump, causing consternation in Beijing.

Xi said the two countries should promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and an economic globalisation that is universally beneficial and inclusive.

On his part, Shehbaz termed Xi as ''a great friend'' of the Pakistani people and lauded the development China achieved under his leadership.

Shehbaz appreciated China's support for Pakistan in mediating the US-Iran negotiations, noting that President Xi's four propositions on the West Asia situation offer guidance for achieving peace.

''Pakistan stands ready to coordinate closely with China to jointly contribute to world peace and stability,'' he told Xi.

Pakistan firmly upholds the one-China principle and stands resolutely with China on all issues concerning China's core interests, he added.

Earlier, Shehbaz held talks with Premier Li Qiang during which he called for Islamabad and Beijing to ''really be together'' in ongoing efforts to restore peace in West Asia.

Speaking at the delegation-level talks with Li at the Great Hall of the People, Shehbaz said that the ''world is passing through a very critical moment''.

''There is a crisis in the Gulf, and Pakistan has played a very sincere role to mediate between the US and Iran,'' Shehbaz said, noting that Field Marshal Munir had just returned from Tehran.

''And he (Munir) didn't want to miss this great visit, and he assured me that he will be joining me in this meeting, and he has been travelling throughout the night,'' said Shehbaz, who arrived in China on Saturday on a four-day official visit as the two all-weather allies celebrated the 75th year of establishment of diplomatic relations.

He highlighted that the army chief ''played a very important role back and forth with the Iranian leadership and the American leadership'', also mentioning Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar's communications with his regional counterparts.

''We hope and pray to Allah Almighty that peace will be restored forever, and lots of ground has already been covered. Things are moving in the right direction,'' he said.

He thanked President Xi and the Chinese leadership for their ''great support to Pakistan to promote peace and achieve a ceasefire''.

The prime minister said that his visit comes at a ''critical moment of history'', noting that both countries were celebrating 75 years of ''our glorious friendship and diplomatic relations established by our founding fathers''.

Citing an official statement, Dawn reported that PM Shehbaz reaffirmed that the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership remained the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy.

He said that the ''iron-clad friendship'' between the two countries was rooted in mutual trust, strategic confidence and shared commitment to peace, development and prosperity.

The two leaders ''reiterated their support on all issues of core interests to both countries''.

It said that the two leaders reviewed the whole spectrum of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction at the steady growth of cooperation in political, economic, strategic, security and people-to-people domains.

Shehbaz underscored Pakistan's commitment to the ''high-quality development of CPEC and its next phase, with focus on industrialisation, connectivity, agriculture, science and technology, digital transformation, clean energy and socio-economic development''.

He reaffirmed Pakistan's firm resolve to ensure foolproof security of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in Pakistan and also highlighted the importance of enhanced cooperation in emerging sectors, including space, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

Shehbaz also said that the selection of Pakistani astronauts for China's space station programme reflected the growing depth of Pakistan-China cooperation in new and strategic domains, the statement said.

Separately, state-run Pakistan TV reported that Shehbaz and Premier Li also witnessed the signing and exchange of multiple memoranda of understanding, protocols, and cooperation agreements covering trade, investment, agriculture, science and technology, climate change, education, media and people-to-people exchanges.

According to state-run APP, these 15 documents included an MoU on economic development cooperation and another on environment and climate change cooperation.