President Xi Jinping meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss cooperation between Pakistan and China. (Photo : Getty Images)
A high-ranking official of Pakistan's foreign affairs office and special assistant to the Prime Minister, Tariq Fatemi, met with Chinese State Commissioner for Counter Terrorism and Security Cheng Guoping in Beijing recently as part of a three-day visit.
The Pakistani foreign ministry released a statement, saying, "Pakistan will continue to support China's efforts to combat the three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism."
Fatemi said that Pakistan will continue to support China against any country who does not respect China's sovereignty. The Pakistani official said that they are willing to stand firm with China.
According to a statement released from Islamabad, the foreign ministry expressed appreciation for China's support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism strategy and struggle for national security.
Experts weighed in the recent visit and said that China will have to understand the complexities of Pakistani media and the role of their political parties in the implementation of the CPEC.
Abdur Rehman Shah, Research Associate at the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, wrote, "Apart from security concerns in Pakistan, China seems to have trouble accepting the way Pakistan's media and political parties have handled this multi-billion project."
He added, "Since this debate relates to the working together of two distinct political systems, looking back at how the structure of each country functions would be pertinent."
Many political parties in Islamabad are divided on the issue of the CPEC. The government has been asking for more time from China to sift through "political differences" on the project.
China's Vice-Minister of the Communist Party's International Department, Zheng Xiaosong, implored for Pakistan's political parties "to resolve their differences and make CPEC a success."
Zheng also called the CPEC critics as "enemies of Pakistan who are engaged in disinformation." He also said that these politicians are "maligning CPEC and promoting a hidden agenda."
