China, Pakistan reaffirm ties as US outreach to Islamabad deepens

China and Pakistan pledged on Monday to further deepen ties and expand cooperation, reaffirming to each other their historically "ironclad" friendship as signs of rapprochement between Islamabad and Washington grow.



Pakistan is one of China's closest partners, diplomatically supporting Beijing on a wide range of internationally sensitive issues ranging from the status of Taiwan to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.



In exchange, Beijing has poured billions of dollars into the South Asian country through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - a flagship project under China's Belt and Road trade and infrastructure initiative.



But repeated Islamist militant attacks on Chinese nationals working on the CPEC and other projects in Pakistan have become a major source of tension in recent years.



In a joint statement on Monday, China and Pakistan said they would build an upgraded version of the CPEC, focus on their cooperation ‌on industry, agriculture and mining, and step up collaboration in the financial and banking sector.