by Meng Fanrong

China’s Ambassador Nong Rong in an impressive ceremony presented credentials to the President of Pakistan His Excellency Dr. Arif Alvi on Tuesday. The ceremony was held at Aiwan-e-Sadr (President House).

The president said that Pakistan and China are staunch friends and share extensive common interests in common development and safeguarding regional and world peace and stability. Pakistan stands firmly with China on issues involving China’s core interests. The current Pakistani government is actively committed to developing the economy and improving people’s livelihood, and highly appreciates the important opportunities that China’s development has brought to the world and the region.

Ambassador Nong conveyed President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings and best wishes to President Alvi, appreciating Alvi’s great concern for China-Pakistan relations and supporting the friendship between the two countries with practical actions. Ambassador Nongsaid that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners, the friendship between the two countries has always been unbreakable and rock solid, and the cooperationhas always maintained exuberant vitality.

Before presenting credentials, Ambassador Nong called on Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Monday. The Foreign Secretary welcomed Ambassadors’ appointment to Pakistan and in a tweet said that: “FS Sohail Mahmood received China’s Ambassador designate Nong Rong today. FS reaffirmed strong commitment to Pakistan-China ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’, hoped CPEC projects would be fast-tracked. Lauded Ambassadors’ experience and extended best wishes to him for successful term.”

The tweet demonstrated Islamabad’s resolve to further strengthen Pakistan-China ties under the leadership of a new Ambassador who had extensive experience of public service and had held key positions in the CPC.

Chinese Embassy in Islamabad also issued a statement on Ambassadors’ meeting with Foreign Secretary which said that: “ Ambassador Nong appreciated Sohail Mahmood and the Pakistani Foreign Ministry for actively promoting the China-Pakistan relations which were are a model of state-to-state friendly relations and China has always given priority to Pakistan in its neighborhood diplomacy. During President Xi Jinping’s historic state visit to Pakistan in 2015, the two sides upgraded the bilateral relationship to an all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership, taking China-Pakistan relations to a new level”.

Ambassador Nong emphasized that at the fifth Plenary Session of the 19^th CPC Central Committee held last week, China put forward the long-term goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035 and the main goals of economic and social development during the 14^th Five-Year Plan period.

The Envoy also stressed that China was ready to work with Pakistan to seize new opportunities for China’s development and inject new impetus into bilateral cooperation. He underlined that China will earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries; strengthen exchanges and cooperation in all areas; work together to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic; deepen vaccine cooperation; and advance the building of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor  (CPEC).

Ambassador Nong arrived Islamabad on 22 October 2020. According to the diplomatic procedures, after the formal presentation of credentials, Ambassador Nong Rong is now able to fully discharge his duties as Beijing’s Ambassador to Islamabad.