SUNDAY TIMES ISLAMABAD: The friendship between China and Pakistan is unparalleled,” Yao Jing said while talking to a gathering during his visit to the city. He said that the purpose of his visit was to celebrate the new Chinese year day with Chinese workers deployed on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor project in Abbottabad.

Later, he visited the Pak-China Public School where Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly Mushtaq Ghani welcomed him.

Speaking on the occasion, the ambassador told that first phase of the CPEC was expected to be completed by the end of this year.

He assured that his country would stand with Pakistan through all thick and thin.

Later, Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly Mushtaq Ghani thanked Chinese ambassador for visiting Abbottabad.

He highlighted the importance of the CPEC for development of country and especially Hazara division.

On February 4, Minister for Planning and Statistics Makhdum Khusro Bakhtiar had said the special economic zones under the CPEC would be made functional soon.

“The government is taking solid measures for progress and development of the country,” Khusro Bakhtiar said.

He said the impact of those measures would be visible in the next two years. “Pakistan had entered into agreements with China pertaining to agricultural cooperation and industrial and socio-economic development,” he added.