China was all set to work with Pakistan in the new decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the ambassador said on Friday.

“We think that in the new decade of CPEC construction we stand ready to work with Pakistani friends from all walks of life to thoroughly implement the important consensus between President Xi Jinping and Pakistani leaders adhering to the principles of higher standards,” Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong said in an interview with Shaukat Piracha on his show Rubaroo that was aired on Aaj News on Friday.

He was responding to a query pertaining to how Beijing was working with Islamabad to further boost and create development in the multi-billion dollar project.

CPEC, a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has attracted direct investments worth over $25 billion from China over the past decade.

The Chinese envoy called for adhering to the principles set for sustainability and livelihood enhancement. He insisted on coordinating security and development to jointly build “CPEC into growth corridor, livelihood enhancing corridor, an innovation corridor, a green corridor, and an open corridor to expand the cooperation in the new fields such as industry, agriculture, mining, science and technology, and the information technology.

Zaidong called for building an upgraded version of CPEC and continue to write a new chapter of building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a share future.

When asked, caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi replied that Pakistan and China friendship was “ever-green” for a reason as it never soured no matter what government came.

He described CPEC as “crown” of BRI and described the 10 years of the corridor project as a “good omen” for the country.

“I hope when prime minister will visit China, CPEC will get a new boost,” he added.

While speaking about the relations between the two countries, Foreign Secretary Cyrus Sajjad Qazi said that the Pakistan-China ties were a “proper reference point” at a time when the world, according to many, was going through an age of transition.

“I think the whole country believes friendship with China is a factor of stability and a matter of mutual benefit,” he said added that it was fortunate for both the countries that there was no doubt in talks and CPEC was best example of it.

“We just need to build on it [relationship]; the real question is how both nations use each other’s power for mutual benefit and regional benefit,” Qazi said while agreeing with the Chinese ambassador’s statement.

In the show, people from different spoke about how the corridor project and connectivity with China changed their lives.