Beijing, April 21: China on Friday backed its all-weather ally Pakistan after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently described Pakistan as a “terror export factory”. China came in support of Pakistan ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which will be attended by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman this week. Backing Pakistan China called on the international community to support its counter terrorism efforts.

China does not want India to raise an issue of Pakistan-based terrorism during the at the meetings of the SCO. Foreign Swaraj is likely to discuss the issue with China. She is expected to draw China’s attention towards India’s stand against terriorism and will seek Beijing’s help in dealing with its ally Pakistan on the terror issue. Swaraj will meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and possibly call on the country’s president Xi Jinping.

On the other hand, Chinese leaders are expected to persuade Swaraj not to make strong statement about Pakistan’s terrorism links. In Response to Prime Mimnister Narendra Modi’s remarks against Pakistan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “Terrorism is an enemy faced by the whole international community. We hope the international community can support efforts made by Pakistan on counter-terrorism and forge effective cooperation with Pakistan in this regard,” reported The Times of India.

On the sidelines of the SCO, there will also be bilateral meetings ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China in May or June. India and Pakistan have become full members of SCO after being observers for several years. China is also worried about sharp exchange of words between India and Pakistan. Russia and Central Asian countries are also part of the SCO.

According to The Times of India, Chunying while interacting with media said, “Security has been a priority of the SCO since its inception and participants will exchange views on relevant issues,” Chunying further added that China hoped all participants would “uphold the Shanghai spirit to move forward the development of the SCO. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told journalists that the SCO would discuss terrorism-related issues.

 

 

 

 

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2018 06:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).