BEIJING: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said here at a regular press conference that it will deal with the issue regarding India’s proposal at UN to list Masood Azhar as terrorist in accordance with the Security Council’s resolutions and relevant rules.
According to the Chinese foreign office’s website, an Indian journalist in the press conference on Friday drew his attention to reports from Indian media say China has put a technical hold on India’s proposal at the UN to list Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of the recent terrorist attack on the airbase in India’s Punjab province.
He also asked his comments on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement at the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday that the world should unite against terrorism, and drops the notion that terrorism is someone else’s problem and that “his” terrorist is not “my” terrorist.
Replying to the first part of question, the spokesman said, “China opposes all forms of terrorism, supports the UN in playing a central and coordinating role in global counter-terrorism cooperation, and plays an active part in this area. China deals with the listing matter of the 1267 Committee on the basis of facts and in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and relevant rules of procedure. China remains in contact with all relevant parties on this matter.”
Answering the second part of question, the spokesman said, “China opposes applying double standards on the counter-terrorism issue. All parties should enhance communication and coordination to combat terrorism as one. The Chinese side stands ready to work with the international community including India to jointly address the threat of terrorism and safeguard world peace and security.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a meeting with PM special assistant on foreign affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi in New York reiterated that Beijing steadfastly supports Islamabad’s fight against terrorism.
As regards bilateral relations, Wang noted that the all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries has been deepening steadily.
As they celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relationship this year, the two sides should seize the opportunity and push for new achievements in their cooperation in various fields in line with the outcome of Xi’s visit to Pakistan last year, he added.
The two partners, Wang said, should maintain close high-level contact and join hands to advance the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a two-pronged vision proposed by Xi and commonly referred to as the Belt and Road Initiative.
Specifically, they need to concentrate on the “1+4” cooperation framework, which has the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the core and the four areas of port, transport infrastructure, energy and industrial cooperation as priorities, he said.
Wang suggested that China and Pakistan beef up cooperation on defense and security and align their engagement in international affairs so as to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights of developing countries.
INP
