China to bolster strong Pakistan ties
PAKISTAN: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will aim to reassure
Pakistan on a visit beginning Friday that energy, military and economic
ties remain tight, despite China’s warming relations with India.
Wen, who flies in after a two-day visit to India, is expected to sign
off on trade deals officials estimated at between $10 billion and $14
billion with impoverished Pakistan, and is likely to pledge Chinese help
to develop a strategic port. Ties between nuclear-armed rivals India and
Pakistan remain tense over a host of issues, and China’s ties with
Pakistan irk India.
Wen used more than $16 billion in trade deals and promises of
political support to charm India into temporarily setting aside disputes
with China.
He will want to assure old friend Pakistan that China’s improving
ties with India do not come at Pakistan’s expense. “China still looks at
Pakistan and India through the same lens,” said Hamayoun Khan, an
independent analyst and former China-Pakistan expert at the Institute of
Strategic Studies.
“Whereas the US considers Pakistan as part of Af-Pak and India as a
separate country, which is not taken well in Pakistan.”
According to a Pew survey of Pakistan public opinion last year, 84
percent of respondents said they had a favorable few of China, and 16
percent had a favorable view of the United States. ISLAMABAD, Friday,
Reuters |