China’s Xi praises ‘unbreakable’ Pakistan ties as Sharif visits Beijing

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says China and Pakistan are ‘iron brother’ countries.China’s President Xi Jinping has hailed Beijing’s “unbreakable” friendship with Pakistan as he met ⁠visiting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, seeking to deepen their “all-weather” partnership.Pakistan is among an exclusive group of countries China regards as an “all-weather strategic partner”, with ties featuring close economic, trade and security cooperation.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Thousands rally in Taiwan to boost defence spending amid China tensionslist 2 of 3Suicide car bomb attack on train in Pakistan kills at least 24list 3 of 3China sends aid to Cuba amid a harsh US blockadeend of listGreeting Sharif at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday, Xi called him an “old friend” and said the two countries had “understood, trusted and supported each other” over decades, forging an “unbreakable traditional friendship”.“No matter how the international situation changes, China always prioritises the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighbourhood diplomacy,” Xi said.Beijing was willing to work with Islamabad to build a more close-knit China-Pakistan community with a shared future and achieve more in their “all-weather” cooperation, he added.Sharif, in turn, called China and Pakistan two “iron brother” countries with a relationship that is “next to none”.The visit comes as Pakistan continues to play a leading role in mediating talks aimed at ending the Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38678" data-entity-type="event">US-Israel war on Iran.Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, who has been at the centre of mediating talks between Washington and Tehran, is accompanying Sharif.Speaking to Chinese leaders in Beijing alongside Munir, Sharif said, “The world is passing through a critical moment.”“Things are moving in the right direction. I would like to thank China’s support to promote peace,” he added.