Pak-China friendship strong, tested like steel: Maryam

Beijing: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said that the Pakistan-China friendship is as strong and tested as steel.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz met with Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, in Beijing. She thanked Minister Liu Jianchao for the warm welcome and appreciated the far-sighted leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Speaking during the meeting, the Punjab Chief Minister said that the Chinese leadership guided China in emerging as a global power, and the role of the Communist Party of China is key in promoting Pak-China relations.

She stated that increasing public-to-public contacts is playing an important role in the formation of the Pak-China community. Pak-China friendship is a lasting relationship that is not affected by the ups and downs of regional and international politics. The bilateral strategic partnership is above the heat and cold of every season.

Maryam Nawaz added that she wants to benefit from China's experiences in local governance and rural development, and will appreciate China's cooperation in youth empowerment and capacity building. She wants full cooperation from China in the vocational training program, increasing people-to-people contacts and cultural relations are the heritage and legacy of the Silk Road.

She further said that she would take sustainable steps for cultural relations between China and Punjab, and to nurture the legacy of Pak-China relations, attention will have to be paid to the young generation.

Liu Jianzhou, Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, thanked Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for her arrival, while she expressed gratitude to Minister Liu Jianzhou for his wonderful hospitality.