Associated Press of Pakistan: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a recent meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Islamabad said his government was committed to unlock full economic and connectivity potential of CPEC. What is your response?

Hua Chunying: We highly appreciate Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statements. He values Pakistan’s relations with China. And he has reaffirmed many times that Pakistan will push ahead the building of CPEC with “new Pakistan speed”. After he took office, he has been to the Gwadar port twice, and he has personally chaired meetings with Chinese companies. He has done so much for our practical cooperation. With the guidance of the leaders of both countries and with our concerted efforts, CPEC has taken on a fresh look and many positive progress has been made in advancing the various working groups and projects. China is ready to further implement the understandings between the leaders of our two countries and building on what we have achieved in building and running current projects. We will further focus on industrial development, people’s livelihoods, agriculture, science and technology, and information technology, et cetera, to build CPEC into a demonstration project for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. This will go a long way in strengthening China-Pakistan relations, building the China-Pakistan community with a shared future, and bringing benefits to the people of the two countries.