China and Pakistan must continue to firmly support each other, foster stronger synergy between their development strategies, and harness the role of the Joint Cooperation Committee of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to ensure the smooth construction and operation of major projects, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

It is important for China and Pakistan to expand cooperation in areas such as industry, agriculture, science, technology and social welfare to create new impetus for the development of the CPEC, President Xi stressed during his meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Forumlar Majmuasi Complex in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

No matter how the international situation evolves, China and Pakistan are always each other's trustworthy strategic partners, Xi said, adding that China will work with Pakistan to advance their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and accelerate the building of a closer community with a shared future between the two countries in the new era.

Commending Pakistan for taking the lead in actively supporting the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, Xi said China will work with Pakistan to promote the implementation of these two initiatives.

China hopes that Pakistan will provide solid protection for the security of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan as well as the lawful rights and interests of Chinese businesses, he added.

The two sides need to enhance communication and collaboration within the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other multilateral platforms to voice the developing countries' rightful opposition to bloc confrontation and commitment to multilateralism, Xi said.

For his part, Prime Minister Sharif expressed appreciation to the Chinese side for its timely and valuable support as Pakistan has been affected by the serious flooding, adding that the Pakistani people view China as an eternal, great friend of Pakistan.

Pakistan is firmly committed to the one-China policy, and firmly supports China's position on issues concerning its core interests including Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, Sharif said.

Pakistan is resolutely opposed to the attempt of certain forces to undermine China's sovereignty and interfere in its internal affairs, he added.

Sharif also vowed that Pakistan will make its best efforts to protect the security of Chinese citizens and institutions in Pakistan.

Pakistan will continue its active participation in the Belt and Road cooperation and make CPEC a model of mutually beneficial cooperation, working with China to take their bilateral relationship to a new height, Sharif said.