On April 26, 2008, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani met respectively with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Both sides held talks in a cordial and friendly atmosphere.

President Pervez Musharraf (L) meets with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi

Expressing satisfaction with the development of bilateral ties, Musharraf appreciated China's sincere help and support over the years to his country. He said Pakistan attaches great importance to ties with China, adding that his country would continue to carry out all-round cooperation with China in such fields as trade, energy, transportation, education and culture. The Beijing Olympic torch relay was warmly welcome in Islamabad, which showcased the deep-rooted friendship between the two countries and their peoples, said Musharraf.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani (R) meets with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L)

Gillani, while meeting with Yang, said Pakistan and China enjoy "all-weather and time-tested" relations and Pakistan is proud of having such a neighbor as China. The new Pakistani government will strive to push bilateral traditional friendly relations forward on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation. Gillani said Pakistan will create favorable conditions for Chinese firms to invest in Pakistan, adding that to develop relationship with China will be the priority for the foreign policy of the new Pakistani government.

The Pakistani side said Pakistan will always stand by China on the Taiwan and Tibet questions, and will abide by the one-China principle and support China's reunification. They expressed firm belief that Beijing Olympics will be a great success.

Yang described the two countries as good neighbors, friends, partners and brothers, saying the two countries have seen substantive progress of bilateral ties with frequent high-level visits, increasing political trust and closer economic and trade ties. The two countries have maintained sound cooperation in large-scale projects, scored remarkable achievements in cooperation on culture, education, military affairs and security and kept close communication and coordination in the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and other multilateral occasions, said Yang. The two countries have also shown mutual understanding, trust and support on issues involving each other's core interests, he added. China thanks Pakistan for its firm support on the Taiwan and Tibet questions, and will support Pakistan's efforts to safeguard national stability and development, Yang said. Yang also expressed appreciation for Pakistan's successful holding of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which he said is a testimony to sincere friendship between the two peoples.

Yang said the Chinese government has always viewed and handled ties with Pakistan from a strategic and long-term perspective and is ready to continuously consolidate and develop bilateral traditional friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation. He urged both sides to maintain the momentum in the exchange of high-level visits, deepen bilateral strategic cooperation and keep closer economic ties. The two countries should also conduct energy cooperation, expand humanities exchanges and strengthen multilateral coordination so as to lift China-Pakistan strategic partnership to a new height, he added.

Yang arrived in Islamabad on April 25 for an official visit to Pakistan. During the visit, Yang met respectively with Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, Senate Chairman Muhammad Miam Soomro, Nawaz Sharif, leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The Pakistani side noted that the Pakistan-China friendship is deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples and developing bilateral ties is the consensus shared by all political parties of Pakistan. The Pakistani parliament and political parties will strongly push for the parliamentary and party-to-party exchanges between the two countries to contribute to maintaining and developing bilateral friendly relations.

On April 25, Yang held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Both sides exchanged in-depth views on bilateral ties and international and regional issues of common concerns and reached broad consensus.