China's Xi hails 'unbreakable' ties, praises Pakistan's role in Iran peace efforts as he meets PM Shehbaz

China’s President Xi Jinping hailed Beijing’s “unbreakable” friendship with Pakistan on Monday as he met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing, seeking to deepen the “all-weather” partnership between the two countries. PM Shehbaz landed in China on Saturday on a four-day official visit, reaching Beijing yesterday after making a stop in Hangzhou. Greeting PM Shehbaz at the Great Hall of the People, Xi called the Pakistani leader an “old friend” and said the two countries had “understood, trusted and supported each other” over decades, forging an “unbreakable traditional friendship.” “No matter how the international situation changes, China always prioritises the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighbourhood diplomacy,” Xi said. He added that Beijing was willing to work with Islamabad to build a more close-knit China-Pakistan community with a shared future and achieve more in their “all-weather” cooperation. PM Shehbaz, in turn, called China and Pakistan two “iron brother” countries with a relationship that is “next to none”. Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, who concluded his visit to Iran on Saturday, was also present on the occasion. Following a rickety ceasefire achieved in the US-Israeli war on Iran in April, Pakistan hosted mediation talks in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran, relaying proposals and missives between the warring countries even when tensions escalated. Weeks into Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts, Washington has reported progress in negotiations with Tehran. “I know that you have just returned from Iran and made positive efforts for the current peace. We still appreciate the constructive role played by Pakistan,” Xi said. PM meets Chinese counterpart Earlier in the day, PM Shehbaz called for Islamabad and Beijing to “really be together” in ongoing efforts to restore peace in the Middle East amid the war. He made the remarks during bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang