Beijing, Nov 22: China today signalled its plan
to sign "unprecedented agreements" with Pakistan during
President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit, but kept mum on the
possibility of a deal to supply up to six nuclear reactors to
Islamabad.
"During President Hu's four-day state visit to
Pakistan, China is expected to sign unprecedented agreements
with the South Asian country," the state-run Xinhua news
agency reported.
However, the report did not say whether China will
sign an Indo-US-style civilian nuclear agreement with Pakistan
for the supply of six nuclear reactors.
China and Pakistan will ink a five-year development
programme for bilateral economic and trade cooperation during
Hu's visit which will be the first-ever agreement for China to
sign with another country, the report said.
Hu and his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf,
will attend the inauguration ceremony of the Haier-Ruba
economic zone in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, the
first of the eight economic zones to be established outside
China and mainly managed by Chinese companies.
"The above-mentioned achievements are major
breakthroughs by both China and Pakistan in seeking new modes
and approaches in their economic and trade cooperation," the
report quoted unnamed sources as saying on the eve of Hu's
visit to Islamabad, the first by a Chinese President in a
decade.
Chinese government has already announced that it will
sign other agreements with Pakistan in areas such as trade,
culture and education during Hu's visit.
However, Beijing has kept mum on the Pakistani request
for six nuclear reactors for power generation. At the same
time, China has defended the ongoing nuclear energy
cooperation with Pakistan.
"China and Pakistan have an agreement on the peaceful
use of nuclear energy. Within this framework, both sides
conduct equal and mutually beneficial cooperation and also
receive the supervision of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA)," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Jiang
Yu said here last week.
"We are willing to cooperate with Pakistan within this
framework," she said when asked whether China and Pakistan
will sign a new nuclear cooperation agreement during Hu's
visit.
At present the China-Pakistan nuclear energy
cooperation is mainly on the Chashma nuclear station (350
megawatts) for electricity generation, she said. China has
completed the first stage of the Chashma nuclear power station
and the second stage (350 megawatts) is still under
construction, she said.
China and Pakistan are also set to conclude a free
trade agreement, the first between a South Asian country and
the communist trading giant. Already, both sides have
concluded the negotiations for this.
During the upcoming visit, Hu will hold talks with
Musharraf and Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He is
also expected to meet business circles, students and other
friendly groups in Pakistan. Hu will also have the honour to
address the Pakistani people over TV.
Hu's visit to Pakistan is bound to further promote
bilateral cooperation in various fields and give new impetus
to the development of Sino-Pakistani friendship, Xinhua
commented.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, November 22, 2006, 00:00