China paying "close attention" to situation in Kashmir: Xi tells Imran

China is paying "close attention" to the situation in Kashmir and the "facts are clear," President Xi Jinping has told Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday and hoped that the "relevant parties" can solve the issue through peaceful dialogue, state media reported.

Xi, who is scheduled to visit India on Friday to hold 2nd informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, assured Khan during a meeting here that the friendship between China and Pakistan is "unbreakable and rock-solid" despite changes in the international and regional situation.

Khan's visit to China comes at a time when tensions have spiked between Pakistan and India after New Delhi ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.

Xi, who met Khan at the leafy Diaoyutai State Guesthouse here, said China is ready to work with Pakistan to forge a closer China-Pakistan community of shared future in the new era.

Khan briefed Xi on Pakistan's views on Kashmir, hoping to avoid deterioration of the situation, saying that Pakistan values and appreciates China's "objective and unbiased" position.

"Xi told Khan that China is paying close attention to the Kashmir situation and the facts are clear," the official Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese president as telling Khan.

Earlier, the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) quoted Xi as saying that China "has been observing the situation in Kashmir."
Noting that China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, Xi said, "No matter how the international and regional situation changes, the friendship between China and Pakistan has always been unbreakable and rock-solid, and China-Pakistan cooperation has always maintained strong vitality."