Former Prime Minister and Finance Minister of
Pakistan Shaukat Aziz said on Tuesday that Pakistan-China relations are
the richest and deepest bilateral relationship Pakistan has with any
country.
Aziz made the remarks during an interview with the Chinese media.
His visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of
bilateral diplomatic ties.
Speaking highly of the bilateral cooperation in economy and trade,
investment, security, defense and personnel exchanges, Aziz referred to
the bilateral ties as a multi-faceted relationship.
Aziz arrived in Beijing on Sunday, starting an eight-day visit.
"Every trip enhances relationships," he said, noting his contacts
with different circles of Chinese society, such as government, the
business community, media, academies and think-tanks.
The trip will also take him to Tianjin and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
"I am going to visit for the first time the city of Urumqi. This is
also a part of my objective to know China better and to explore new
areas," he said.
China's economic growth enables Pakistan to come to China to seek
investment and funding for its development programs, Aziz said.
He encouraged Chinese companies to beef up investment in Pakistan,
especially in the area of infrastructure, telecommunication and banking.
"Only yesterday I was pleased to see the new high-speed train from
Shanghai to Beijing started, so this tells us China has leapfrogged in
technology for the building infrastructure," he said, adding that "this
gives us a new idea of what we can do in Pakistan."
With regard to anti-terrorism cooperation, he said China can give
Pakistan a lot of advice and support on how to tackle this very complex
issue, which is not just a battle for security, but a battle to win the
hearts and minds of the people.
"Both countries continually acknowledge that terrorism is not the
solution for any problems," he said, "and we exchange information and
have interactions on various levels."
He said Pakistan wants to live in peace and the political parties are doing their best to try to contain and control terrorism.
Commenting on the U.S. plan to reduce troops in Afghanistan, Aziz
said he was very pleased, as it will reduce some of reasons for the
current extremist tendency for terrorist activities. Xinhua
