China opposes using FATF for political purposes to pressurise Pakistan

BEIJING: China on Tuesday once again supported Pakistan’s anti-terror financing efforts, after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to place Pakistan on the grey list.

“We also oppose the use of FATF as a political measure to put pressure on Pakistan,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said during a press briefing.

The spokesperson asserted that all parties should objectively and fairly consider Pakistan’s anti-terrorism efforts instead of simply blaming the country.

“In recent years, Pakistan has actively taken a series of measures to strengthen financial regulations and crackdown on terrorist financing and made important progress,” he added.

Shuang said, “The Pakistani government and people have made tremendous efforts and made great sacrifices for the international anti-terrorism cause.”

Responding to a question whether China is not entirely sure of Pakistan's efforts in combating terrorist financing, the spokesperson repeated that as an all-weather strategic partner, China and Pakistan will continue to enhance coordination and cooperation on counterterrorism.

Some international media reports had earlier suggested that China this time around refused to bail out Pakistan at the FATF meeting. However,the spokesperson said both countries have a very strong relationship.