China is Pakistan’s iron brother: Wang Yi

Beijing: China has once again called Pakistan its ‘iron brother’ and welcomed the de-escalation with India along the Line of Control. “China played a vital role in defusing the conflict between the two countries [Pakistan and India],” said China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, at a press conference on the sidelines of the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress. “Islamabad and New Delhi should meet each other to deescalate the crisis,” the Foreign Minister said. Pakistan and India will turn the crisis into an opportunity, he hoped. Wang called upon the two nuclear capable neighbours to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and bring about long-term improvement in their bilateral relations. “We [Pakistan and China] can create a better future through cooperation when confrontation gives way to dialogue and disagreements are settled by goodwill,” he remarked. “Chinese dragons and Indian elephants won’t clash. Instead, they will dance with each other,” Wang replied to a question. China is one of Pakistan’s closest allies. Beijing has poured billions of dollars into the South Asian country as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a massive infrastructure project that seeks to connect its western province of Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan. The project is one of the largest in Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, comprising a network of roads and sea routes involving 65 countries.