Militaries of Pakistan, China agree to step up defence and anti-terrorism cooperation amidst 'challenging times'

"Both sides discussed their perspectives on the international and regional security situation and expressed satisfaction on defence cooperation between the two countries,” according to the statement.

China and Pakistan have agreed to step up their defence and counter-terrorism cooperation amidst "challenging times", as Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa held wide-ranging talks with the Chinese military leadership to further cement their all-weather strategic partnership.

Gen Bajwa, accompanied by top Pakistani defence officials, held talks with the Chinese team led by vice-chairman Central Military Commission General Zhang Youxia in Qingdao, the capital city of east China's Shandong province on June 12.

“The tri-service military delegation of Pakistan visited China from June 9 to 12 where it held wide-ranging discussions with senior officials of the Chinese military and other government departments,” according to a statement by the Pakistan Army. The Apex Meeting was held on Sunday where the Pakistani side was headed by Gen Bajwa, while the Chinese side was led by General Zhang.

"Both sides discussed their perspectives on the international and regional security situation and expressed satisfaction on defence cooperation between the two countries,” according to the statement.

"Pakistan and China reaffirmed their strategic partnership in challenging times and agreed to continue the regular exchange of perspectives on issues of mutual interest. Both sides also vowed to enhance their training, technology and counterterrorism cooperation at the tri-service level," it added.

"China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners," said Gen Zhang, noting that over the years, both sides have kept close coordination and firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests.

In the meeting, both sides strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the shuttle van of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi in Pakistan in April and stressed that “any attempt to undermine the China-Pakistan friendship is doomed to fail,” the Chinese military said in a statement.