BEIJING: China said it would firmly adhere to its friendly policy towards Pakistan and the all-weather iron-clad friendship would not be affected by leadership change in the country.
“No matter how the political affairs in Pakistan may change, China will firmly adhere to our friendly policy to Pakistan and we don’t believe the political change will affect the bilateral relations whatsoever,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing in response to a question about change of leadership in Pakistan after former prime minister Imran Khan was voted out through a no-confidence move.
The spokesperson said China wished all parties in Pakistan to remain united ad maintain the stability and development of the country together.
“We noted some changes in the political circle of Pakistan. As a close neighbour and ironclad friend, we sincerely hope all parties in Pakistan will maintain solidarity and jointly uphold stability and development in their country,” he said.
Replying to another question about the claim of foreign interference in no-trust move, he said China was firmly opposed to any other country’s interference.
According to Chinese state-backed media, China is confident the new government in Pakistan will continue to uphold the long-standing tradition to make sure the friendship with China and all China-Pakistan cooperation projects will be unaffected.
It pointed out that Shehbaz Sharif’s family has been promoting China-Pakistan ties for a long time, and cooperation between the two countries. The CPEC as well as China-Pakistan cooperation in other fields including counterterrorism and fighting coronavirus, are significant for Pakistan to overcome its current challenges, it added.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijianwhen asked about the current political situation in Pakistan said that “China follows the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.
“China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. History has proven time and again that China-Pakistan relations have always been unbreakable and rock-solid, no matter how the international landscape and their respective domestic situations may change.”
Zhao added: “We believe that the overall situation of China-Pakistan cooperation and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will not be affected by the political situation in Pakistan. As Pakistan’s iron-clad friend, we sincerely hope that all parties in Pakistan will remain united and work together for national development and stability.”
