ISLAMABAD    -   Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Saturday said Pakistan and China stood together to safe­guard their common interests and would continue to support each oth­er on issues of significance.

He was speaking at the inaugura­tion of a photo exhibition and CPEC library at the Ministry of Foreign Af­fairs here. He said China would con­tinue its support to Pakistan against any threat of terrorism.

The minister said that as iron brother and trusted friend, Chi­na attached special importance to Pakistan in its foreign policy and looked forward to further strength­ening strategic ties between the two countries. Thanking Pakistan’s sup­port to China on its core issues, he reaffirmed China’s support for Pa­kistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for its economic devel­opment, progress and prosperity.

He appreciated Pakistan for its support for the One China princi­ple, adding friendship of the two countries was time-tested and had across-the-board support among their people.

He said he brought books from China for the CPEC library including books written by President Xi Jin­ping on governance and the ancient Chinese culture. Sharing memories of his stay in Pakistan as ambassa­dor in the last decade, he said the li­brary was a reminder of the strength of the strategic partnership which was manifested through the CPEC projects. The CPEC project was in­augurated by the Chinese President along with the leadership of Paki­stan in 2015, he recalled, adding the leadership launched projects across Pakistan by signing more than 50 agreements. The minister expressed his happiness over the completion of various projects under CPEC includ­ing highways, power plants and in­dustrial parks, saying it was all made possible due to the strategic guid­ance of the leadership.

He said the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by China was undertaken to bring shared prosperity to human­ity. “Through BRI, China envisioned to bring the countries together to face the current economic challeng­es and to turn challenges into oppor­tunities,” he stressed.

The deputy foreign minister had arrived in Islamabad to attend the CPEC Joint Working Group meet­ing on Sunday. In his remarks, For­eign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi said CPEC remained foremost in the all-weather strategic cooperative re­lationship of Pakistan and China.

Welcoming Vice Foreign Minister Sun to Pakistan, the Foreign Secre­tary said that the Pakistan-China friendship enjoyed complete polit­ical, institutional and public sup­port in Pakistan. Underscoring the salience of bilateral friendship for regional peace and stability, he ex­pressed Pakistan’s readiness to fur­ther expand and strengthen bilateral ties in all areas of cooperation.

He said the China-Pakistan rela­tionship was exemplified by com­monality of interests. He invited oth­er countries to invest in the industry, agriculture, science and technology projects under the CPEC.

The CPEC project was a tribute to the wisdom of leaders of dif­ferent generations who contrib­uted to strengthening of bilateral ties between Pakistan and China, he remarked. The shared vision of CPEC was meant to bring econom­ic prosperity, regional connectivi­ty and industrial growth, the Sec­retary added.

Later, the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary inau­gurated the CPEC library and exhibi­tion. Photos of various CPEC proj­ects including Friendship Hospital, Vocational School and International Airport in Gwadar and East Bay ex­pressway were put on display.

The East Bay expressway in the Gwadar region was an important in­frastructure project connecting the port and free industrial zone with the national highway network.