Islamabad: Chinese President Hu Jintao promised on Friday to bolster his country's strategic ties with Pakistan to a new level, saying strong relations between the old allies was conducive to peace in Asia.
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 a free trade pact, which they hope will boost trade from $4.26 billion last year to $15 billion within five years. There had been speculation they would also sign a new agreement on nuclear power but no new deal was announced.
China has already helped Pakistan build a 300-megawatt nuclear plant and is building a second of the same capacity. Referring to that help, Hu told a news conference with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, "We will continue to carry out such cooperation."
Hu arrived in Pakistan on Thursday from a visit to India where he agreed with leaders to expand economic relations, sweep away mistrust and speed up efforts to resolve border disputes.
Analysts said he would be keen to demonstrate that China's growing ties with India would not come at the expense of its old friend, Pakistan. "China will continue to view its relations with Pakistan from a strategic and long-term perspective," Hu said.
"We are ready to work together with Pakistan to raise our strategic partnership onto a new level." In addition to the free trade agreement, the two sides signed a pact on a five-year plan to set up a comprehensive framework for boosting economic ties.
Other agreements covered a range of areas such as telecommunications, infrastructure, science and technology, culture, health and defence, including collaboration on the development of an airborne early warning surveillance system.
Friend to south Asia
Asked about Pakistan's long-running dispute with India over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, Hu said China wanted to see the South Asian nations resolve their disputes peacefully.
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"South Asian countries are close neighbours to China. So as a neighbour and a friend to South Asia, China sincerely hopes to see peace and stability maintained on the sub-continent," he said.
"We appreciate and support the efforts by Pakistan and India to resolve their existing disputes peacefully through dialogue," he said, referring to a tentative peace process between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals.
Analysts believe China has supported Pakistan's missile and nuclear weapons programme for decades. It is Pakistan's main supplier of conventional arms and provides hundreds of millions of dollars of development finance. The warmth of Pakistan's ties with China contrasts sharply with the on-off relationship Pakistan has had with the United States.
Pakistan has been a major US ally in a global war on terrorism for the past five years, and has been supplied with long-coveted US weapons and generous aid, but many Pakistanis see the United States as a fickle friend.
The United States reached a nuclear cooperation deal with India this year but declined to offer Pakistan similar help. Pakistan remains under a cloud because of the role played by its former top scientist in a nuclear proliferation scandal.
Hu was due to address the Pakistani nation on television later on Friday and travel to the city of Lahore on Saturday. He is due to leave Pakistan on Sunday.
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