Beijing, NOV 04 : China on Sunday said it supported Pakistan’s “quest for peace through dialogue” to settle the outstanding disputes with India and backed Islamabad’s engagement with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
A joint statement, issued here after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, said that China backed Pakistan’s efforts to improve ties with India to settle “outstanding disputes”, without directly mentioning the Kashmir issue. “China appreciates Pakistan’s quest for peace through dialogue, cooperation and negotiation, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, and supports Pakistan’s efforts for improvement of Pakistan-India relations and for settlement of outstanding disputes between the two countries,” the joint statement said.
On the Kashmir issue, China’s oft repeated stand was that it should be resolved peacefully through dialogue. India too supports dialogue as the way to resolve the issue with Pakistan but maintains that the talks and terrorism cannot go together.
For its part, Pakistan supported active participation of China at the platform of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Also significantly, China tacitly expressed its backing for Pakistan’s efforts to secure the NSG membership. China has been blocking India’s entry into the NSG on the ground that New Delhi is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) even though majority of the 48-member group supported India’s entry into the elite nuclear club. Pakistan too has applied for the NSG membership.
