On the afternoon of June 4, 2002, President Jiang Zemin, who is attending the summit meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Almaty, met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Jiang said that he is pleased to meet Musharraf in Almaty. He reiterated that the Chinese side cherishes the friendly relations with Pakistan, and is willing to work for continuous development and consolidation of the all-around cooperation between China and Pakistan.

Musharraf spoke highly of the traditional friendship between the two peoples and the friendly coorperation between the two governments in the trade and economic feild and other fields. He believes the Pakistan-China relations will make even greater progress in the new century.

On the increasingly tense relations between Pakistan and India, Musharraf briefed Jiang on Pakistan's views and its policy on the current situation in South Asia. He stressed that Pakistan wants peace and opposes war, and will never initiate war. Pakistan hopes to have dialogue and negotiations with India.

Jiang said China appreciates and supports President Musharraf's repeated position that Pakistan will, proceeding from its own national interests, fight against terrorism and its internal extremist religious forces. He pointed out that the disputes between Pakistan and India are issues left over by history. Only through negotiations can a just and right resolution be found for the disputes between Pakistan and India.

Jiang said China supports the Pakistani government's policy of restraint and its efforts to ease tension with India. He stressed that a relaxation of tension between Pakistan and India will serve the interests of both countries and will also be helpful to peace and stability in South Asia.