CHINA:China signed a free trade pact with old ally Pakistan yesterday as visiting Chinese president Hu Jintao promised to bolster ties to a new level.
Hu arrived in Pakistan on Thursday on the first visit by a Chinese president in a decade. His visit also marks the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations which analysts describe as Pakistan's most stable.
The two countries signed 18 agreements including the free trade pact which they hope will boost trade from €3.6 billion last year to €12.6 billion within five years. Separately, Chinese companies struck 13 deals worth €2.5 billion. Hu travelled to Pakistan from India where he agreed with leaders to expand economic relations, sweep away mistrust and speed up efforts to resolve border disputes.
Analysts said President Hu was keen to demonstrate that China's growing ties with India would not come at Pakistan's expense.
"China will continue to view its relations with Pakistan from a strategic and long-term perspective," he told a news conference with Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf. Analysts believe China has supported Pakistan's missile and nuclear weapons programme for decades and it is also Pakistan's main supplier of conventional arms. There had been speculation the two countries would sign an agreement on helping Pakistan build new nuclear power stations. China has already helped Pakistan build a 300-megawatt nuclear plant and is building a second of the same capacity.
No deal was announced, although President Hu promised nuclear energy co-operation.
In an address to the Pakistani nation later yesterday, he hailed Pakistani support on what he described as issues affecting China's core interests.
He mentioned Taiwan, Tibet, human rights and "the fight against east Turkistan terrorist forces", referring to Islamic separatists in China's west. "It is Pakistan, again, that has over the years extended valuable support to China. This is something we in China will never forget."
He also hailed cultural diversity and said no one religion should be blamed for conflict. "One should not make irresponsible remarks about the internal affairs of other countries simply because of differences . . . It is equally wrong to blame a particular civilisation, nation or religion for some problems or conflicts in the world." Earlier, he signalled that China would remain even-handed when it came to Pakistan's decades-old dispute with India over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.