BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang congratulated Shahbaz Sharif on his election as Pakistan's prime minister.

In a congratulatory message on April 13, Premier Li said China and Pakistan are unique all-weather strategic cooperative partners, adding that bilateral relations and friendship have experienced great changes, and have always been rock-solid and unbreakable. In the face of profound and complex changes in international and regional situation and amid the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan have helped each other to overcome difficulties, and the ironclad China-Pakistan friendship continues to grow, he noted.

Premier Li said he looks forward to working together with Shahbaz to carry forward the two countries' traditional friendship, consolidate mutual political trust and promote the high-quality construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Meanwhile, the Premier expressed willingness to deepen the all-around, pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and speed up the process to forge an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, which will not only benefit the peoples of the two countries and also be conducive to regional and global stability and development.

Premier Li also expressed his belief that Pakistan will accomplish new achievements in promoting national stability, development and progress.