Chinese President Xi Jinping told Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday that the two countries will “unleash” the positive effects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is strongly opposed by India since several projects under it are coming up in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Xi Jinping and Imran Khan discussed a range of issues, including CPEC and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan during a phone call on Tuesday, according to a readout shared by official Chinese media.

“We will continue to unleash the positive effects of the corridor in promoting growth and improving people’s well-being,” the Chinese president told Imran Khan, according to the official Xinhua news agency. He reiterated CPEC’s strategic role in bilateral ties, adding that “history has fully proved that the two countries are each other’s most reliable iron-clad brother”.

The two countries will “jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with high quality and strengthen their cooperation in such fields as agriculture, digital economy and people’s livelihood”, Xi Jinping further told the Pakistan’s prime minister, calling on the “two countries to stand together even more firmly and push forward the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two sides, and build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era”.

The CPEC is a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which New Delhi has opposed as it violates India’s territorial sovereignty. Beijing has paid little attention to New Delhi’s serious reservations about the CPEC and have pumped in billions in money and resources in building infrastructure projects under the economic corridor.

In a separate statement issued by the Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Imran Khan “lauded the successful, timely and high-quality implementation of the CPEC projects, and welcomed Chinese investments in the CPEC Special Economic Zones”.

He “underscored that early start of work on the ML-1 railway project would complement Pakistan’s geo-economics vision for national and regional development”, according to the Pakistani press readout.

The Chinese readout did not share details on what the two leaders discussed on Afghanistan, where Beijing and Islamabad are closely communicating with the Taliban government.

In a rare move, however, the leaders of the two countries appealed for international aid for Afghanistan, a statement from the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

“Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, both leaders called on the international community to provide immediate humanitarian and economic assistance to the Afghan people to alleviate their suffering, prevent instability and flight of people, as well as continued engagement for the rebuilding of the country,” the statement said.

The appeal came as Chinese state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi held two days of talks with Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar.

The Chinese president “noted that the two sides should strengthen counterterrorism and security cooperation”, Xinhua reported.

The two sides should maintain close strategic communication, further synergize development strategies and enhance the sharing of experience on governance, Xi Jinping said.