Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the “unbreakable friendship” between China and Pakistan as he met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing on Monday, a day after companies from both countries signed cooperation agreements worth $1.22 billion.
Xi called Sharif an “old friend” and said he wanted to deepen their “all-weather” partnership, adding that he appreciated Pakistan’s mediation efforts in the Middle East during a meeting at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
An “all-weather partnership” is the highest diplomatic tier in China’s foreign policy and is reserved for countries with which Beijing maintains close economic, trade and security cooperation.
“No matter how the international situation changes, China always prioritises the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighbourhood diplomacy,” Xi said.
Sharif, in turn, described China and Pakistan as two “iron brother” countries with a relationship that is “next to none”.
Sharif began a four-day official visit to China on Saturday, accompanied by Pakistani government and military officials, including army chief Asim Munir, who has been in Tehran meeting Iranian officials.
Pakistan has played a key role in facilitating contacts between the U.S. and Iran and has hosted mediation talks between the two countries in Islamabad.
For Pakistan, involving China in its mediation efforts is important given Beijing’s close ties with Tehran.
On Sunday, Sharif witnessed the signing of more than $1 billion worth of agreements at the Pakistan-China Business Conference in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, alongside Zhejiang Governor Liu Jie.
Sharif also met representatives of several Chinese companies, including Sheng Huo Neng Yuan Ke Ji, CATL, StarCharge and Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group.
Sharif’s visit came as the two countries marked 75 years of diplomatic relations last Thursday. China and Pakistan maintain strong economic, military and trade ties.
The $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a 3,000km (1,900-mile) infrastructure project launched in 2013, aims to link China’s Xinjiang region with Pakistan’s Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea.
The scheme, designed to shorten the route for China’s energy imports from the Middle East, includes the construction of roads, ports, railways and energy infrastructure across Pakistan.
Beijing also supplies Islamabad with 80% of its arms imports, and the two countries have jointly developed the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, the backbone of Pakistan’s air force, as well as air defence systems.
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Morocco booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a convincing 3-0 victory over Canada, ending the co-host's historic run in the tournament.
Kyrgyzstan’s ex-second in command, Kamchybek Tashiev, has been convicted of plotting to overthrow the country’s President Sadyr Japarov. Tashiev and Japarov had ruled the Central Asian nation in tandem since 2020, until the former was unexpectedly ousted in February.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Niño, warning the climate pattern is likely to drive higher global temperatures and intensify extreme weather in the months ahead.
India is investigating a data breach at Tata Electronics that exposed sensitive documents linked to Apple's unreleased iPhone 18 Pro, marking the government's first public comments on the incident.
International politicians and religious leaders have paid respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei throughout the day, ahead of his six day funeral ceremony which begins on Saturday. His casket is currently on display at the Iman Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran.
Germany has requested urgent talks with China's ambassador following reports that Chinese authorities trained Russian soldiers, adding fresh strain to relations between Beijing and Europe amid the war in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump said Iran is keen to reach a deal with the United States, claiming Washington had paused engagement to allow funeral ceremonies for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
West Africa's Al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on military positions in Mali on Saturday and said it had seized control of at least three of them.
Russia's Defence Ministry has said its forces are clearing the town of Lyman in Donetsk of Ukrainian forces, Moscow's state news agency Tass reported. Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed at least six people across three Ukrainian regions on Friday, regional officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use next week's NATO summit in Ankara to advance his push for greater European responsibility in security, with a bilateral meeting planned with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Paris seeks closer coordination with key allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence, saying Russia and the United States share a special responsibility for maintaining global security as the world's two largest nuclear powers.
China said on Saturday it had launched a coast guard patrol east of Taiwan, prompting a strong protest from Taipei, which accused Beijing of illegally expanding its authority and undermining regional stability.
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