Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari emphasized the importance of sustaining and reinforcing the strategic mutual trust between Pakistan and China, during a meeting with Ambassador-designate to China, Dr. Syed Ali Asad Gilani, in Islamabad. The President underscored the significance of high-level exchanges, stronger people-to-people contacts, and deeper economic cooperation as vital components of Pakistan’s foreign policy regarding its relationship with China.

According to Radio Pakistan, President Zardari highlighted the necessity of translating the strong political goodwill between Pakistan and China into enhanced economic and industrial integration. He welcomed the focus on Business-to-Business cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) 2.0 framework and stressed the importance of collaboration in modern agriculture, artificial intelligence, and new technologies. These areas, he noted, are particularly crucial for skills development and job creation for the youth of Pakistan.

The President instructed the Ambassador-designate to maintain proactive engagement with Chinese government institutions, the Communist Party of China leadership, think tanks, academia, and media, in order to promote people-to-people ties, including student exchanges. He also expressed anticipation for President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit next year.