Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has assured Chinese President Xi Jinping that his party and country will always be behind Beijing as it climbs the ladder to become super power.
The young PPP leader was in the Chinese capital to attend “Asian Political Parties Conference on Silk Road”. He held a meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the conference, which was organised by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and attended by more than 50 political parties and organisations from 30 countries.
The chairman parliamentary committee on China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, represented Pakistan.
Zardari, who participated in the conference as PPP chief, was accompanied by former ambassador to United States Senator Sherry Rehman, former deputy speaker of National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi and political secretary Jameel Soomro.
The PPP chief said Pakistan and his party wanted to see China grow as super power and become one of the global leaders.
Mr Zardari’s interest in China comes from his family as his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, mother Benazir Bhutto and father Asif Ali Zardari have all been staunch allies of Beijing in the past.
An individual meeting with the PPP chief also demonstrated warm ties as the top Chinese leadership was not scheduled to have such interaction with the participants. Ms Rehman said the meeting had a special significance as the Bhutto family was a strong advocate of close ties with China.
“It was an important meeting on the sidelines of the conference. As you know, the PPP has a special place in CPC’s vision,” she said.
