China stands ready to work with Pakistan to promote the building of a closer community of shared future in the new era, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday.

Wang made the remarks during the third round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue, which was attended by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

70 years of diplomatic ties 

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan, Wang said the two countries have worked together to overcome many difficulties and obstacles, and established an all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation.

"China is willing to work with Pakistan to take the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to accelerate the construction of a closer community of shared future in the new era, bring more benefits to the two peoples, and make greater contributions to regional stability and prosperity," Wang added. 

Henan floods

Qureshi extended condolences to China over the deadly floods in Henan Province. He said Pakistan thanks China for its valuable support for the country's fight against COVID-19 and condemns all smear campaigns against China. 

COVID-19 cooperation 

Wang also spoke highly of the two countries' cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 with both sides repeating their objection to vaccine nationalism. Qureshi said Pakistan supports China's stance on tracing the origin of the coronavirus and opposes any attempt to politicize the issue. 

Dasu attack 

Commenting on the attack on the Chinese-contracted Dasu Hydropower Project, Wang called for close cooperation between the two countries to bring the attackers to justice and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. He expressed appreciation for Pakistan's effort in treating the victims and strengthening security. 

Qureshi said Pakistan will spare no effort to safeguard the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan, re-organize the special forces to strengthen security work, and resolutely prevent similar incidents from happening again. 

Nine Chinese and three Pakistani nationals were killed and 39 others were injured on July 14, when an explosion struck a bus in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The blast targeted a shuttle vehicle from the Dasu Hydropower Project, which a Chinese company was contracted to build, as it was on its way to the construction site.

Opposing unilateralism 

At a joint press briefing after the meeting, Wang said the two countries agreed to continue the high-quality construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs, jointly oppose hegemonism and unilateralism, and maintain the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on the international law.

Afghan situation

Wang told reporters that as neighboring countries of Afghanistan, both China and Pakistan are most directly affected by the situation in Afghanistan.

He said the two countries have agreed to strive for peace with all their strength to avoid the spread of war as a top priority, actively promote peace through talks and advance intra-Afghan talks, work together to combat terrorism and push all major forces in Afghanistan away from terrorism, promote coordination and cooperation among neighboring countries of Afghanistan, and urge the United States to earnestly fulfill its responsibilities for the peace and reconstruction of Afghanistan. 

(With input from Xinhua)