China will continue to adhere to the five principles of peaceful coexistence and jointly write a new chapter for China-Pakistan friendship with Pakistan, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said on Tuesday.

At the invitation of Pakistan's ruling party Pakistan Muslim League (PML), a CPC delegation, led by Liu Yunshan, a member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and also of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, arrived in Islamabad Monday evening on a goodwill visit to Pakistan.

Addressing a conference on China-Pakistan friendship on Tuesday, Liu, also head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, called on the two countries to strengthen exchange of visits between leaders, maintain close communication and consultation on major issues of common interest.

"On the basis of expanding the traditional commodity trade," the two sides should "further explore areas for cooperation, strengthen cooperation in energy, transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure building," he said.

He called on the two countries to accelerate the process of free trade talks and strive for an early establishment of a free trade area.

The two sides should "extend areas of cooperation and expand the foundation of China-Pakistan friendship," he said. They should "enhance exchanges and cooperation in culture and education, science and technology, and development of human resources," he added.

Liu also asked the two sides to further strengthen coordination and cooperation in international as well as regional affairs such as the reforms of the United Nations, anti-terrorism and regional cooperation and make efforts to safeguard the interests of China and Pakistan and preserve peace and stability in the region and the world at large.

Mushahid Hussain Sayed, secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League, told the conference that the party-to-party contacts will reinforce the good relations between the two countries and that the China-Pakistan friendship is a strong factor for stability, peace and security in the region and the world as a whole.

The CPC delegation's visit came at a time when the year 2006 marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations and the centennial of the PML's founding.

Source: Xinhua