On January 9, 2023, Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a phone call at request with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Qin Gang said that China and Pakistan enjoy special friendship and high-level mutual trust. The high-level officials of the two countries have maintained close interactions, injecting strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations. The Chinese side is ready to work with the Pakistani side to follow the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, continuously deepen the traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, and jointly build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Qin Gang stressed that with the Chinese New Year just days away, the Chinese side is highly concerned about the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan and hopes that the Pakistani side will continue to take strong security measures.

Bilawal once again congratulated Qin Gang on his assuming office as China's Foreign Minister, saying that the ironclad brotherhood between China and Pakistan is the "North Star" guiding Pakistan's foreign policy toward China. Bilawal expected to jointly take the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to a new level. He wished the Chinese people a happy Chinese New Year in the upcoming Year of the Rabbit. The Pakistani side will spare no effort to protect the safety of the Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.