BEIJING: China on Friday pledged its support for Pakistan's efforts against terrorism as foreign affairs ministers of both the countries discussed regional and international situation. Addressing a press conference along with his Pakistani counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Pakistan's people, government and the armed forces rendered unprecedented sacrifices against terrorism.

He said Pakistan and China stand together amid changing regional and international situation. He also welcomed Pakistan’s efforts for peace in Afghanistan and expressed Beijing’s desire for better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said China attaches great respect to Pakistan’s interest and said relations between the two countries are stable.

Wang Yi said peace in Afghanistan is in the interest of both China and Pakistan. He said that China also wants good relationships between Pakistan and Afghanistan. "We wish to pursue security dialogue and strategic cooperation between China, Paksitan and Afghanistan", Yi said. He said that China is observing closely US policy on Afghansitan.

Speaking at the press conference, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan and China support each other on regional and international affairs.

Asif said the China and Pakistan agreed that solution of the Afghan problem has to be fundamentally political solution and that there is no military solution to the conflict.

Referring to the US policy on Afghanistan and South Asia, Khawaja Asif said peace and stability in Afghanistan remains critical for peace and security of the region. He said it is our firm view that focus should be on politically-negotiated settlement of the Afghan conflict.

He said China is playing a constructive role in this regard and together Pakistan and China can contribute to a political solution of Afghan problem.

The Minister said Pakistan and China have close counter terrorism cooperation and Pakistan shares Beijing's strong position on three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

He said Pakistan's comprehensive and all out law-enforcement actions against all terrorist groups have yielded positive results. He expressed Pakistan's gratitude to China for unflinching support in counter-terrorist efforts.

The meeting between the foreign ministers took place at the State Guest House in Beijing where they discussed whole range of regional and international issues.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif arrived Beijing in early hours of Friday.

He has been invited by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, at a time when Beijing stressed that it saw this visit as an “important event between the two friendly countries which would further help implement the cooperation consensus reached between the two leaders”.

Earlier, the Pakistani Foreign Office had released a brief statement saying that this will be a one-day visit, where the two sides will review the bilateral relations and regional developments, including the situation in Afghanistan.