Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Pakistan and China are all weather strategic cooperative partners who have preserved the tradition of standing by each other during thick and thin.

He was talking to Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing in Islamabad on Friday.

The Foreign Minister particularly thanked China for extending solidarity and moral and material support to Pakistan in the wake of outbreak of COVID-19. He underscored that the large amounts of personal protective equipment and medical equipment sent by Beijing have significantly strengthened our capacity to control the COVID-19.

The Foreign Minister also expressed deep gratitude to the Chinese leadership for sending a team of medical experts to Pakistan to assist our health community to contain the pandemic.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi reaffirmed that CPEC is a transformational project and completion of CPEC projects is number one priority of the government. He said both sides are working closely to further deepen cooperation during CPEC's Second Phase which will have far-reaching impact on our industrial, agriculture, health, and socio-economic development sectors.

Ambassador Yao Jing said China is Pakistan's close friend and steadfast partner. He said Pakistan extended valuable support in China's fight against outbreak of the virus.

He recalled that President Dr. Arif Alvi's visit to Beijing in March was an expression of tremendous solidarity to the Chinese people and further cemented our ties.  He said China would continue to strengthen Pakistan's capacity to fight this pandemic. He reiterated that CPEC is  high priority and both countries have maintained momentum of CPEC's development.

Zahid/Khokhar