China 'pleased' over Pakistan's 'positive interactions' with India: FM spokesman

Beijing, Mar 29: China said on Monday that it was "pleased” over Pakistan's "positive interactions" with India and it will work with Islamabad to "inject" positive energy into regional peace, stability and development.

The militaries of India and Pakistan announced on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.

Weeks later, both Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan and powerful Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa made peace overtures towards New Delhi saying it was time for the two neighbours to "bury the past and move forward".

"We are happy about the active interactions between Pakistan and India," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here in response to a question. But an official transcript posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website later in the evening quoted him as saying that China is "pleased with Pakistan's recent positive interactions with India."

"We are ready to work with Pakistan, and continue to inject positive energy into regional peace, stability and development," he said.

Zhao was responding to a question on Pakistan President Arif Alvi's remark that China is his country's "closest and friendliest friend" during his speech at the Pakistan Day parade on March 25.

China warmly congratulates Pakistan on the 82nd Pakistan Day, and believes that the Pakistani government and people will make steady progress on the path of national development and rejuvenation.

"China also cherishes its all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation with Pakistan," he said. "We are ready to take the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic ties as an opportunity to work together in the fight against COVID-19, carry forward our traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation, and build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future for the new era,” he said.