In a letter to President Arif Alvi, the Chinese premier said that both Pakistan and China are working to maintain the "momentum of peace and development in the region."

"Political parties of China and Pakistan have carried out friendly consultations on a regular basis," the letter further stated adding that the dialogues had consolidated political consensus between the two countries to vigorously promote the steady and long-term development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The Chinese president was responding to a special letter of congratulations written by President Alvi, on the second conference of the CPEC Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism.

A day earlier, China threw its weight behind Pakistan for “independently” choosing a development path based on its “national conditions”, striving for a better external security environment and playing a more constructive role in international and regional affairs.

It came as a part of a joint statement issued after talks between China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Beijing.

The visit was undertaken against the backdrop of a host of regional developments suggesting new alignments with China increasingly taking the lead in shaping the dynamics.

Both sides reviewed bilateral ties, including the CPEC, regional and international issues as well as how to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly its economic fallout.

But the significant part of the joint statement was China’s support for Pakistan to independently evolve policies suited to its national interests.

“The Chinese side reiterated that Pakistan and China are iron brothers and Pakistan remains China’s staunchest partner in the region and that China firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, independently choosing a development path based on its national conditions, striving for a better external security environment and playing a more constructive role in international and regional affairs,” the joint communiqué read.

This statement may be aimed at conveying a message to those countries – some of which are Pakistan’s friends – not to persuade Islamabad to take decisions that may hurt the country’s long-term interest.

It is believed that certain Pakistani friends in the Arab world are pushing Islamabad to distance itself from China and forge closer ties with the US and its allies.

But Prime Minister Imran Khan in a recent television interview made it clear that Pakistan considered China a long-term strategic and economic partner.