Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo meets with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in East Lake Hotel in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province

On February 21, 2009, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province, with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who is here for a goodwill visit to Hubei Province.

Dai, on behalf of President Hu Jintao and the Chinese government, expressed warm welcome for Zardari's visit. Zardari spoke highly of the Pakistan-China relations, saying that the two nations had increasingly cemented traditional friendship and expanded cooperation in various areas in the past 50-odd years. The president said Pakistan was grateful for China's support and assistance to its economic and social progress. The Pakistani government would continue its friendly policy towards China, and make joint efforts with the country to deepen the mutually-beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, energy, agriculture and finance for the benefit of both peoples, Zardari told Dai.

"To promote the development of Sino-Pakistani friendship is our unswerving policy," Dai said, noting that China always treated relations with Pakistan from a strategic height and a long-term perspective. He said China would work with Pakistan to enhance the all-weather friendship and all-round cooperation to benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional peace and development. Dai hoped the two countries would upgrade the bilateral relations into a new level.

Following the meeting, the relevant agencies of the two countries signed an agreement on trade in services of the China-Pakistan free trade area.