Ties with Pakistan to be enhanced

China would like to join hands with Pakistan to deepen the building of a China-Pakistan community with a shared future and maintain regional peace and development, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

Xi made the remark in a message sent to his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi, who had sent a congratulatory message on Thursday on the second conference of the Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Xi said that he appreciated Alvi's congratulatory message, which fully demonstrates the great importance that the Pakistani president has attached to the development of China-Pakistan relations and the construction of CPEC.

As a landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC is of great importance in promoting in-depth development of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and forging a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the global fight against the pandemic fully proved that only through mutual support and cooperation will mankind vanquish the virus, Xi said.

In his congratulatory message, Alvi said that the proposal of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative, put forward by President Xi, reflected the common desire of people around the world.

Alvi expressed gratitude toward China's medical assistance to Pakistan in the fight against COVID-19. Pakistan will continue to promote cultural exchanges with China and make efforts with China to promote regional peace and stability.