BEIJING/ISLAMABAD: China has emphatically defended Pakistan’s record of combating terrorism in the wake of United States President Donald Trump’s tirade, stressing that the international community should fully recognise this.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, during a regular briefing in Beijing on Tuesday defended Pakistan’s contributions and the great sacrifices made in counter-terrorism.
“Pakistan has made great efforts and sacrifices for combating terrorism and made prominent contributions to the cause of international counterterrorism, and the international community should fully recognize this.
“We welcome Pakistan and other countries’ cooperation on counter-terrorism and in other fields on the basis of mutual respect and their joint commitment to the security and stability of the region and the world,” he said.
The Chinese spokesperson said that China and Pakistan maintain an all-weather strategic partnership, and said Beijing is willing to further deepen its cooperation with Pakistan in all fields
“China and Pakistan have maintained the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. China stands ready to further deepen cooperation with Pakistan in various fields to bring greater benefits to the two peoples.”
The spokesman was asked about the effects of President Trump’s allegations against Pakistan after the recently held trilateral meeting to bring about peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He said that it is natural and necessary for the three countries to cooperate with each other.
“As neighbours, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan are linked by rivers and mountains, share common interests and have cultural and people-to-people bonds. It is only natural and necessary for the three countries to cooperate with each other.”
He said they had reached eight point consensus including agreeing on further deepening coordination and cooperation on counterterrorism and indiscriminately combating all terrorist organisations and terrorists.
“We believe the three sides will follow through on the consensus reached by the foreign ministers and continue to advance counterterrorism cooperation.
Last week, the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue was held in Beijing attended by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and his Chinese and Afghan counterparts Wang Yi and Salahuddin Rabbani.”
On the other hand, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing said that Beijing acknowledges Pakistan’s matchless sacrifices in the war against terror and stands firmly with Islamabad in all situations.
The newly appointed ambassador held a meeting with National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua and reiterated China’s strong commitment to the security and stability of Pakistan.
Besides other issues, President Trump’s latest tweet on Pakistan also came under discussion. The two sides stressed the need for political reconciliation in Afghanistan and an early closure of the Afghan conflict.
