The prime minister made these statements while giving an interview to Newsweek on Monday.
He addressed the growing friction between the United States and China, and said “While the Pakistan-China relationship is very special, Pakistan and the US have also maintained a long-standing historic bilateral relationship which covers all issues of mutual interest.”
Shehbaz said that Pakistan looks forward to engaging in healthy dialogue with the international community to promote peace and stability, adding that conflict anywhere in the world adversely affects developing countries.
“The world can ill-afford [a] descent into another era of Cold War or bloc politics. I believe polarisation would have serious consequences for the global economy afflicted by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis. Developing countries, like Pakistan, are already suffering from external shocks to their socioeconomic well-being, and do not desire aggravation of these challenges induced by [a] major power rivalry,” he said.
In response to a question asking if Pakistan could play a role in de-escalating tensions between China and the US, the premier said, “If China and the US so desire, Pakistan would be happy to play a positive role to bridge their differences, as we had done in the past.”
He added that 'cooperation, not confrontation', should be the main driver of international relations.