China to stick

by Pakistan

Leaders sign bilateral deals:

PAKISTAN: China and Pakistan concluded another 10 billion dollars’ worth of deals Saturday, as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Beijing would “never give up” on the troubled nuclear-armed country.

Business leaders formalised paperwork — adding to the 20 billion dollars’ worth of deals signed Friday — under blanket security at Islamabad’s five-star Marriott Hotel, where a huge suicide truck bomb killed 60 people in 2008.

Boosting trade and investment with Pakistan have been the main focus of the first visit in five years by a Chinese Premier to the country that is on the front line of the US-led war on Al-Qaeda.

Pakistan regards China as its closest ally and considers the deals incredibly important to a moribund economy which was dealt a massive blow by catastrophic flooding this year and suffers from sluggish Western investment.

Wen and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani presided over a ceremony where business leaders inked 22 agreements and 17 memorandums of understanding as broadcast by state television.

According to a list handed out to journalists, the biggest deal was 6.5 billion dollars to develop wind and solar power.

Pakistan suffers from a debilitating energy crisis and produces only 80 percent of the electricity it needs.

Though not specifically mentioned, behind-the-scenes talks were expected on China building a one-gigawatt nuclear power plant as part of Pakistani plans to produce 8,000 megawatts of electricity by 2025 to make up its energy shortfall.

The Islamabad city administration declared Saturday a public holiday, apparently for security reasons with the country on full-time alert for suicide attacks and bombings blamed on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.

“We have established an all-weather friendship and engaged in all-round cooperation. The China-Pakistan relationship has withstood the test of time and changes in the international landscape,” Wen told a lunch in his honour.

“Under no circumstances we will give up on our commitment to pursuing this partnership.”

Wen pledged China’s full support in the wake of the floods, which affected 21 million people, saying Beijing would help the country “lay a new solid foundation for you to achieve self-owned, stable and sustainable development.”

He inaugurated a cultural centre built as a monument to Pakistani-Chinese friendship and held talks with opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and senior figures in the military, which depends on China for hardware.

The 35-million-dollar Pakistan-China Friendship Centre offers the Pakistani capital a conference venue, theatre, cinema and space for multiple events.

Islamabad, Sunday, AFP