Hu seeks to balance ties with India, Pakistan

CHINA: Chinese President Hu Jintao will seek to balance his nation's relations with nuclear powered neighbors India and Pakistan when he begins back-to-back visits to the South Asian rivals Monday.

Hu will spend three days each in India and Pakistan on his first visit to both nations by any Chinese president in a decade.

Hu's first stop will be India, where he will hold talks with President Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders while also visiting Mumbai and Agra.

"In their talks, the leaders will map out the future direction of the relationship," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told journalists.

"They will also show the world that the development of relations between China and India will not only provide opportunities to the two countries, but will also play a positive contribution to world peace, stability and development."

Last year, trade between China and Pakistan grew by 39 percent to 4.26 billion dollars compared with 2004, according to Chinese statistics.

Although nothing has been officially announced, Chinese state press have reported that Hu is likely to finalize a free trade agreement with Pakistan while in Islamabad. Beining, Sunday,

BEIJING, Sunday, Afp.