China and Pakistan on Sunday pledged deeper military ties while calling for stronger cooperation in counterterrorism two months after an attack killed three Chinese citizens in Karachi.

In a meeting with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, General Zhang Youxia, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, also said China would also "strengthen communication ... enhance cooperation, deepen pragmatic exchanges, properly address complex factors in the regional situation and promote deeper relations between the two militaries", according to the Chinese defence ministry.

Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa met China's General Zhang Youxia, the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission on Sunday. Photo: Anjum Naveed alt=Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa met China's General Zhang Youxia, the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission on Sunday. Photo: Anjum Naveed>

In response, Bajwa, the most senior officer in the Pakistan Army, told Zhang his country's "friendship with China is unbreakable and rock solid" and his country would always stand firmly with China regardless of changes in the international and regional situation.

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Pakistan was also looking to improve cooperation in counterterrorism with China among its efforts "to deal with various security challenges, safeguard the common interests of both countries and contribute to regional peace", he added.

The Pakistan Armed Forces said the two sides pledged to strengthen their training, technology and cooperation on counterterrorism.

Pakistan is among the few countries whose defence chiefs are received regularly by Zhang, who sits on the 25-strong Politburo, the decision-making body of the Communist Party.

The Chinese military usually leaves the job of meeting foreign generals to Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, who ranks lower than Zhang and has just wrapped up a trip to Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Wei held meetings with a handful of defence ministers at the dialogue, including with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

Zhang and Bajwa both denounced the suicide attack in April that killed three Chinese citizens near Karachi University's Confucius Institute.

"Any attempt to undermine China-Pakistan friendship will not succeed", the two senior military officers said, according to the Chinese defence ministry.

It was the first time senior military officers from China and Pakistan took a joint stand against the Karachi attack. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist insurgent group that has increasingly viewed China's infrastructure investment as a target, rattling Beijing.

In the wake of the Karachi attack, China has repeatedly urged Pakistan to improve security for Chinese nationals in the country and called for further joint efforts to counter terrorism.

Earlier, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that Islamabad Police had set up a foreign security cell to audit the security arrangements of foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, as part of its efforts to address Beijing's concerns.

As China's confrontations with the US have intensified in the Indo-Pacific, there has been speculation that Beijing will step up efforts to further stabilise its western borders.

The relationship between China and Pakistan has been one of highest priorities for their two governments, whose leaders often hailed them as "iron brothers".

Pakistan has hosted massive Chinese infrastructure investment - mostly under the US$62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - designed to connect China's far west region of Xinjiang with Gwadar Port in Pakistan via a network of motorways, railways, oil pipelines and trading hubs.

But Chinese investment has been under an intense spotlight. In July, nine Chinese nationals involved in building a hydropower project at Dasu in northern Pakistan were among those killed when a car suicide bomber attacked a convoy headed for the dam. Construction was stopped until January.

Pakistani authorities blamed the Pakistani Taliban for the attack, claims the Pakistani Taliban denied.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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