Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Chinese President Xi Jinping he arrives for a family photo at the Shangh... Read More

BEIJING: The "all weather friendship" between China and Pakistan suffered a setback on Friday as Chinese president Xi Jinping decided not to meet Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana.

Xi reportedly took the unprecedented step to express his displeasure at Sharif government's failure to protect the lives of two Chinese citizens who were kidnapped more than two weeks back in Balochistan before they were killed by militants. China had been pushing Islamabad to take steps to rescue them.

What lent significance to Xi's decision was his meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit. The killing of the Chinese citizens vindicated the issues of terrorism raised by Modi in his speech at the SCO.

The Chinese president also met leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and the king of Spain who is in Astana for a world expo held alongside the SCO summit, according to the local media.

China usually defends Pakistan on the subject of terrorism even when India raises issues about its role in abetting terrorist attacks in India. But it is unable to accept the killing of Chinese citizens at a time when the China Pakistan Economic Corridor will bring hundreds of Chinese engineers and workers to Pakistan.

"We are highly concerned," Hua Chunying, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said. China had "always been advising Chinese citizens to not visit highly risky regions," she said.

