China shares some of the concerns of the United States, about the terrorism problem in Pakistan and Washington is seeking to work with Beijing and other regional players to convince Islamabad, about the need to crackdown on terror safe havens, a senior White House official has said.
    
As Trump Administration is determined to eliminate terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, which is key to bring stability in Afghanistan and in the region, the official hoped that China will play a helpful role in convincing Pakistan that it is in its own national interest to crackdown on these sanctuaries.
   
Pakistan already has deep historical ties going back to many years and they have close military ties, the official said, adding that the economic relationship is also growing with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
   
"But, China shares some of the concerns of the US about the terrorism problem. The US is seeking to work with other regional players and China would be one of the main ones to deal with this issue. It won't serve China's interests to have terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan," the senior administration official said on condition of anonymity.
   
The official was quick to point out that China has been playing a more helpful role in terms of encouraging better relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
   
It is taking a more active role in that regard.
   
"So, I would disagree with the assertion that China will not play a helpful role in convincing Pakistan it's in its own interests to crack down on the sanctuaries," the official told a group of reporters on Friday.
   
"Ultimately, China is also working toward a stable Afghanistan. That's going to take them back to the same issue which are the sanctuaries in Pakistan," the official said.
   
China-Pakistan relationship is already very strong and appeared unconcerned over reports that the US decision to freeze approximately USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan would push Islamabad towards Beijing, the official added. --PTI