Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a regular press briefing on Dec 27, 2021. (PHOTO / FMPRC.GOV.CN)

BEIJING - China will continue prioritize its relationship with Pakistan in neighborhood diplomacy and firmly support Pakistan's goal of prosperity and revitalization, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Thursday.

According to media reports, Pakistan's newly-elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said, when meeting with the charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, that Pakistan's new government attaches great importance to relations with China and will promote the building of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with more vigor and efficiency.

"China appreciates Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's remarks," Zhao told a press briefing, adding that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and ironclad brothers.

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Zhao said China stands ready to work with Pakistan's new government to facilitate exchanges at all levels, enrich and expand practical cooperation, build CPEC toward the sustainable, livelihood-oriented and high-standard objectives, and accelerate the building of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era to benefit the two countries and their peoples.