China is currently hosting Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz
and this trip has been an opportunity for both countries to sign 13
agreements laying out future cooperation in fields as wide-ranging
as aeronautics, telecommunications, education and legal
assistance.
The agreements were signed on Tuesday after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Aziz for talks which led to
four points of consensus according to Chinese Foreign Ministry
sources.
The agreements tackled some of the piquant points of bilateral
relations such as moving rapidly forward with the China-Pakistan
free trade agreement, finalizing a five-year plan for economic and
trade cooperation, ramping up discussions on service trade
cooperation and further encouraging mutual investment by both
business communities.
The long-standing friendship will further expand with new
cultural and humanitarian fields, while taking serious steps to
halt actions by "East Turkistan" separatist elements and all forms
of cross-border crime.
The sources added that close coordination between two powers in
the region would help secure stability and foster development in
South Asia.
Wen praised China's relations with Pakistan, calling the country
"a good and highly reliable friend", "a strong cooperative partner"
and "a close brother sharing weal and woe". He further extended his
congratulations on the 60th anniversary of Pakistan's
independence.
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Wen said the Chinese government would continually maintain
existing policies in the interests of traditional friendship and
comprehensive cooperation with Pakistan, and stands ready to take
the strategic partnership "to a new level".
Aziz responded in kind, saying that the Pakistan-China
friendship was a source for pride for Pakistani people. Ties
between the two countries had stood the test of time and were
brought consistently closer through frequent high-level exchanges,
he outlined.
At Wen's invitation, Aziz arrived in Beijing on Monday, kicking
off an official visit to China from April 16 to 20. After wrapping
up his Beijing trip, Aziz will travel to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, to inaugurate Pakistan's new
consulate-general there. Following this, he will attend the Boao
Forum for Asia (BFA) in Hainan Province from April 20 to 21.
(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2007)