China-Pak friendship has big support among people: Survey

The ties between China and Pakistan, often described as "all-weather friendship", continues to resonate with the people of the two nations with a majority of them terming the relationship as "iron friends", according to a new survey conducted ahead of President Xi Jinping's visit.
An online survey, jointly conducted by China's state-run Xinhua news agency, Pakistani online magazine Youlin and China's Tencent News, shows that netizens of both countries share a similar view on the bilateral ties.
According to the survey, 89 per cent of the Chinese netizens and 90 per cent of the Pakistanis surveyed chose "iron brothers" to describe the China-Pakistan relations.

It said 73 per cent of Chinese and 63 per cent of Pakistani netizens believe the bilateral ties are a vivid embodiment of the saying, "A friend in need is a friend indeed," a Xinhua report said.
In the survey, 92 per cent of Pakistani netizens said the iron brotherhood between China and Pakistan will never go rusty.
Netizens said the upcoming visit of President Xi to Pakistan will lift the China-Pakistan strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.
Xi will arrive in Pakistan on April 20 on a two-day visit during which he would formally launch the USD 46-billion China-Pakistan Corridor project, connecting China's Xinjiang with Pakistan's Gwadar port.

The 3000-kilometre long route via the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will be connected with highways, railways and pipelines.