China foreign minister urges Pakistani Army Chief to protect nationals, Belt and Road projects

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and infrastructure projects during his meeting with Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir who was visiting Beijing for the first time since recent clashes with India.

Over the years, China has invested billions in Pakistan’s infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative. However, security concerns have grown amid repeated attacks targeting Chinese workers, which Beijing has labelled as “terrorist attacks.”

During the Thursday meeting, Wang expressed China’s support for Pakistan’s efforts to fight all forms of terrorism and stressed the importance of protecting Chinese personnel, projects and institutions. He also emphasized the “ironclad” friendship between the two countries and reaffirmed China’s commitment to prioritizing Pakistan in its regional diplomacy.

”China supports Pakistan in resolutely combating all forms of terrorism and hopes that the Pakistani military will continue to make every effort to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions,” Wang said during the meeting on Thursday with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.

He reaffirmed China’s ”ironclad” friendship with Pakistan, saying that Beijing would continue to prioritise the country in its neighbourhood diplomacy.

Munir also met with China’s Central Military Commission vice chairman Zhang Youxia on Friday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

Beijing has pushed Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to Chinese citizens on the ground, after a car bombing in the southern port city of Karachi that killed two Chinese engineers in October last year, Reuters reported.

With inputs from agencies