China's Xi Pushes Effort To Strengthen Ties With Pakistan

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in April 2019.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged closer cooperation with Pakistan in a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Cooperation will be strengthened under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor program to invest in infrastructure, Xi said on February 6, according to the government-backed Communist Party newspaper Global Times.

"The strategic relationship between China and Pakistan is of prominence in a changing world," Xi was quoted as saying.

China also is willing to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan at the United Nations and promote justice and world and regional peace, Xi said.

Xi met a range of world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the Olympics got under way.

The meetings came amid concerns over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine and concerns that it is a prelude to an invasion.

With reporting by AP and AFP