Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday said he hoped that India and Pakistan would maintain the momentum of dialogue and jointly improve bilateral ties to promote peace, stability and development in South Asia.
Hu's comment came when visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz called on him. In return, Aziz pledged that Pakistan will continue to work with India to solve their unsettled problems through dialogue and negotiations.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Aziz had on Tuesday agreed to intensify coordination and communication on multilateral issues in an effort to safeguard stability and promote the development in South Asia.
President Hu highlighted China-Pakistan relations, saying bilateral strategic cooperative partnership has entered a new development stage.
China is ready to make joint efforts with Pakistan to implement the agreements the two sides have inked and enhance cooperation in areas like science and technology, trade and culture to lift ties to a new level, the General Secretary of ruling Communist Party of China, he said.
On China-Pakistan trade cooperation, Hu said the two countries should enlarge the scale of trade exchanges, enhance cooperation between the enterprises and explore new cooperative fields and ways.
Hu and Aziz also exchanged views on reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear issue, Xinhua news agency reported.
Aziz will visit Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, where he will attend the inaugural ceremony of Pakistan's consulate general and visit the Air Design Complex where the two countries have been cooperating for manufacturing JF-17 fighter jets.