Beijing: China on Friday told Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who air-dashed here to seek its support on Kashmir, that it regards both India and Pakistan as "friendly neighbours" and wants them to resolve the issue through UN resolutions and the Shimla agreement.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiralled after New Delhi revoked Article 370 to withdraw the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the region into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh.
In reaction to India's move, Pakistan downgraded the diplomatic relations by expelling the Indian High Commissioner and suspended trade ties with New Delhi.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrived here on Friday morning to seek all-weather ally China's support for Pakistan's efforts to ratchet-up the Kashmir issue.
Qureshi met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi who assured him that China will continue to support Pakistan in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests and uphold justice for the country on the international arena.
China is seriously concerned about the recently escalated tensions in Kashmir. The Kashmir issue is a dispute left from the colonial history. It should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement, Wang said, in an apparent reference to the Shimla agreement which cals for the issue to be settled bilaterally.
He said China believed that unilateral actions that will complicate the situation should not be taken.
Wang also noted that Pakistan and India are both China's friendly neighbors and major developing countries that are in a crucial stage of development.
"We call on the two sides to bear in mind their national development and peace in South Asia, properly resolve historical grievances, get rid of the zero-sum mindset, avoid unilateral action and seek a new path to peaceful coexistence," Wang said.
The Chinese foreign minister stressed that as all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan have understood and supported each other on issues concerning our respective core interests.
Qureshi briefed Wang about Pakistan's position and measures in response to the latest developments in Kashmir.
He told Wang that he believes that China will stand up for justice on the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan will continue to resolutely support China's just position on issues concerning China's core interests, apparently referring to the Tibet and Taiwan issues.
Earlier, reacting to questions about Pakistan's decision to downgrade the diplomatic ties with India and approach the UN Security Council, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "China has noted the relevant statement by Pakistan".
China on August 6 objected to the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory by India, saying it undermined its territorial sovereignty.
Qureshi's visit comes ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's three-day trip here starting from August 11 during which he is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang.
His visit, the first by an Indian minister to China after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government commenced its second term, has been scheduled earlier.
Both Jaishankar and Wang would hold the 2nd India-China People-to-People exchange mechanism and address the 4th India-China Media Summit Forum on August 12.
