"China-Pak relations not directed at any third party," says Chinese Foreign Ministry

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday denied that China-Pakistan friendship was targeted at any third country, reported Global Times.

Mao said that China encouraged India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue.

When asked to comment on claims that during the previous India-Pakistan conflicts, China closely assisted Pakistan at the expense of India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, "China-Pakistan relations are not directed at any third party, and that China encourages both India and Pakistan to properly resolve differences through dialogue and consultations and jointly uphold regional peace and stability."

When asked to comment on reports that China follows "36 stratagems" to provide all possible support to Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she doesn't know the specifics of the matter.

"China and Pakistan are traditional friendly neighbours, and defence and security cooperation is part of the normal cooperation between the two countries and is not directed against a third party. India and Pakistan are immovable neighbours, and both are important neighbours of China," Global Times quoted her as saying.

She said that China has promoted peace in the region.

"We welcome and support the efforts of India and Pakistan to properly address their differences through dialogue and consultation and to seek fundamental solutions. China is also willing to continue to play a constructive role to that end," Mao said.

Earlier, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, had highlighted the role played by China and Turkey in assisting Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

Speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' organised by FICCI, the Deputy COAS said that the Chinese were giving live updates to Pakistan while the conflict was on."We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support. 81% of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese... China is able to test its weapons against other weapons, so it's like a live lab available to them. Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did... When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan had the live updates of our important vectors, from China," he said.

Meanwhile, in response to media reports about French intelligence services claiming that after the India-Pakistan conflict in May this year, China used its embassies abroad to spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale fighter jets, aiming to undermine their sales, Mao said that she is 'not aware' of the situation.