China on Tuesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the new prime minister of Pakistan and said it was looking forward to working with him to continue traditional friendship, deepen all-round cooperation and advance a high-quality building of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in new era.

” We congratulate Shebaz Sharif on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian remarked.

He said that China and Pakistan were all weather strategic and comprehensive cooperation partners with rock solid and unbreakable relations.

“China looks forward to working together with the Pakistani side carrying on our traditional friendship, resolutely supporting each other, deepening cooperation in various areas, and building a high quality CPEC to build an even closer China-Pak community of shared future in the new era,” he added.

Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the opposition in National Assembly, was sworn in as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan on Monday after securing 174 votes from the 342-seat assembly, officially taking over from former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who lost a no-confidence vote on Sunday.