Reporting the meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and China's visiting Defence Minister Chang Wanquan in Islamabad on Feb 28, Xinhua quoted the latter as appreciating Pakistan's valuable support on issues concerning its "core interests". He said China is willing to lift bilateral ties to a new height. He announced also that the two had reached an "important consensus" regarding building the China-Pakistan economic corridor, which will play an "exemplary role for the construction of the Silk Road economic belt as well as the maritime Silk Road". Chang Wanquan arrived in Pakistan on Feb 27, 2014.