Karachi, Sep 30: Pakistan has neither requested nor held any talks with China on restructuring, deferment or swap of debts despite the massive devastation caused by the floods in the country, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said, days after the US asked Islamabad to seek debt relief from its all-weather ally Beijing.

During an interview to news magazine Foreign Policy, Bilawal, who was in Washington this week, said if Pakistan has to approach China, it would be on its own terms. “If we have a conversation with China, it should be between Pakistan and China alone, no one else needs to interfere. Engagement with China should continue. Whenever we have this conversation, it will be between us and China. I hope that it does not become a victim of geopolitics," he said on Thursday. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif’s House Combed, Debugged After Audio Leak Row.

Bilawal's remarks came days after US State Secretary Antony Blinken called on Pakistan to seek debt relief from China while reiterating Washington's support to the cash-strapped country, which is now facing the aftermath of unprecedented floods caused by climate change.

The cataclysmic floods in Pakistan have so far left 1,666 persons dead since mid-June. The floods have left a third of the country submerged under water and caused estimated damage of nearly USD 30 billion. Apart from the lives lost, more than two million houses have been destroyed and over one million livestock - a major source of income for rural households - have been lost in the floods.

The floods have also raised questions on whether the cash-strapped country would be able to pay its debts on time, with the local currency weakening against the dollar and the forex reserves dwindling. “What China does — whether it's with Sri Lanka or Pakistan — that's totally China's decision. Just like it's 100 per cent America's decision in either of these circumstances,” Bilawal said in reply to a question on China not coming to Pakistan's aid in a big way after this year's catastrophic floods and that even Sri Lanka wasn't able to get much help from China in the wake of an economic crisis. Shehbaz Sharif Leaked Audio: Pakistan PM Summons NSC Meet to Discuss Data Leaks From Prime Minister's Office.

On China-Pakistan ties, he said Islamabad had offered its hand in friendship to Beijing when no one else did. “Now, everybody wants to be friends with China,” he commented, as he went on to elaborate on how China had come to Pakistan's help in recent times.

Blinken's remarks drew a sharp response from China, which called out the US for “passing unwarranted criticism against Pakistan-China cooperation” and urged it to do something “real and beneficial” for the people of Pakistan.

During his interview, Bilawal also said that Pakistan would like to play a bridge between China and the US, rather exacerbating tensions or “being a geopolitical football”.

“Rather than being a point of competition or a venue for these divisions (between China and the US) to be exacerbated, I would like Pakistan to continue to play a role that we have had in the past. Pakistan originally played a bridge between China and the US, resulting in diplomatic relations between the two countries,” he said.

“In this time of great geopolitical division, I would much rather play the role of a bridge by uniting these two great powers around working together for climate change,” Bilawal said. The foreign minister hoped that “Pakistan's unique position as a friend of both the US and China could encourage cooperation on this (climate) front”.