Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says China and Pakistan are ‘iron brother’ countries.

China’s President Xi Jinping has hailed Beijing’s “unbreakable” friendship with Pakistan as he met ⁠visiting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, seeking to deepen their “all-weather” partnership.

Pakistan is among an exclusive group of countries China regards as an “all-weather strategic partner”, with ties featuring close economic, trade and security cooperation.

Greeting Sharif at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday, Xi called him an “old friend” and said the two countries had “understood, trusted and supported each other” over decades, forging an “unbreakable traditional friendship”.

“No matter how the international situation changes, China always prioritises the development of China-Pakistan relations in its neighbourhood diplomacy,” Xi said.

Beijing was willing to work with Islamabad to build a more close-knit China-Pakistan community with a shared future and achieve more in their “all-weather” cooperation, he added.

Sharif, in turn, called China and Pakistan two “iron brother” countries with a relationship that is “next to none”.

The visit comes as Pakistan continues to play a leading role in mediating talks aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran.

Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, who has been at the centre of mediating talks between Washington and Tehran, is accompanying Sharif.

Speaking to Chinese leaders in Beijing alongside Munir, Sharif said, “The world is passing through a critical moment.”

“Things are moving in the right direction. I would like to thank China’s support to promote peace,” he added.

Pakistan has emerged as a central mediator between the United States and Iran, hosting face-to-face talks last month that failed to yield a lasting agreement.

China has played a quieter role, shepherding phone calls and meetings with officials of Gulf countries. It has said it will work with Pakistan to “make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East”.

According to Chinese state media reports, in his meeting with Sharif on Monday, Xi said he appreciates Islamabad’s “constructive role in mediating peace in the Middle East”.

For Pakistan, engaging China in its mediation efforts is also important given close Beijing-Tehran ties.

In March, China and Pakistan issued a five-point initiative as their foreign ministers met in Beijing, calling for peace talks and restoration of normal navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.