Ambassador Rizwan Sheikh says Pakistan can help bridge differences between US and China

Islamabad can help bridge differences between the US and China, Pakistan's envoy to Washington said on Friday.

The remarks came amid Pakistan's efforts to strike a balance in its ties with the two world powers.

In a talk delivered at the University of California, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh underscored the strength of Pakistan-US relations and highlighted the role of the Pakistani-American community in fostering mutual growth.

“Pakistan has the potential to serve as a bridge between China and the United States,” Sheikh was quoted as saying at the event.

The statement came hours after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its relations with key longtime ally China would remain “unaffected” by Donald Trump winning the US presidential election

“Pakistan’s relations with China are all-weather,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing when asked if Trump’s victory will affect the country’s China policy.

“They are strategic and a source of stability in our foreign policy.”

Baloch said Islamabad does not even need to consider the possibility that its relationship with China will be affected by any domestic development in another country.

The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both world powers while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis.

“Our relations with the United States are decades old, and we look forward to further strengthen and broaden Pakistan-US relationship in all fields,” Baloch said.

“As the Deputy Prime Minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”