LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that whatever China was doing for Pakistan, the United States could not, and reiterated that relations with Washington should be repaired, but not at the cost of ties with Beijing.

The prime minister, who had a busy weekend, met with a group of journalists at his Model Town residence in Lahore. The journalists had recently returned from an official visit to China, undertaken on the invitation of the China Public Diplomacy Association.

Speaking on the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif  said that he is very concerned about the safety and security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan, and assured that the government would use all its resources to ensure their well-being.

There is no place for politics of any kind on relations with a close friend like China, he remarked.

PM Shehbaz said that work was progressing fast on the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and during the visit of Chinese experts to Pakistan, there was positive movement on the promotion of cooperation in different fields.

Talking about his letter to Beijing requesting debt re-profiling, he said that if China agreed to give Pakistan five to seven years to pay back the loans, the government would be able to bring down inflation, including electricity prices.

However, when asked if he had received any response so far, he said: “No… [our request] is under consideration”.

“We hope for a positive response from China in this regard,” he said.

When asked about Pakistan-US relations, the PM was of the view that the country needed to repair its relations with Washington, as that was in its best interests.

“I think our relations with the US must be repaired, as it is very necessary for Pakistan… But it shouldn’t be at the cost of China… and I had told [the Americans] recently in presence of various dignitaries including Mr Ishaq Dar,” he explained.

“I also told them that similarly, the friendship with China is not at the cost of US, as both have significance for us,” he clarified.

The PM said he believed that whatever China was helping Pakis­tan accomplish, the US cannot do.