China and Pakistan to develop plan for economic corridor

China and Pakistan have pledged to develop a long-term plan by the end of the year to create an economic corridor linking the two countries, part of their efforts to promote economic inter-dependence and bound the two countries with a "common destiny".

Premier Li Keqiang and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met in Boao, Hainan province, and agreed to carry out several priority projects in the initial stage before the creation of the economic corridor.

Li said that funding for these priority projects is not an issue, as the two neighbors see the corridor as a central part of their bilateral cooperation.

On another note, he also said that China is willing to cooperate with Pakistan to combat terrorism.

Sharif, who is attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2014, said China is Pakistan's "all-weather friend", and the country's relations with China are the cornerstone of its foreign policy.

The economic corridor project was first discussed during Li's visit to Pakistan in May 2013.

It refers – geographically - to the 2,000-kilometer road and rail link connecting Kashgar in west China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the southwestern Pakistani port of Gwadar, according to Xinhua News Agency. But the project is not confined to transportation infrastructure as – in addition to road and railway construction - it also includes energy cooperation and investment programs.