ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, 27 November 2006 — Chinese President Hu Jintao wrapped up his historic four-day visit to Pakistan yesterday that saw the signing of the landmark free trade deal.
Hu’s red-carpet reception in Pakistan contrasted with the staid welcome he received days earlier in India, where Beijing and New Delhi made no major breakthroughs on lingering disputes.
Hu boarded his Air China jumbo jet at an airport in the northeastern city of Lahore yesterday morning after signing numerous accords to continue military cooperation, increase investment, bolster joint energy development and combat terrorism.
A high point of the agreements was a five-year free trade pact signed with Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The deal was expected to more than triple bilateral trade to $15 billion over the next five years.
Both countries also agreed to jointly develop planes that use the Airborne Early Warning and Control System, or AWACS. That deal came on top of an ongoing project for the co-production of JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft.
While Hu was in town, Pakistan and China also agreed to jointly set up a Defense Electronics Complex that will develop electronic equipment and communication technology for military use.
Turning to regional tensions, Hu also promised to help nuclear-armed Pakistan and India resolve friction over the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and senior civil and military officials were present to see off the Chinese leader at the Lahore airport, which was bedecked with Chinese and Pakistani flags and large portraits of Hu.
Before leaving for Beijing, Hu visited a Chinese factory in Lahore that manufactured air conditioners, refrigerators and other electronics items.
During an hour-long visit to the factory the Chinese president declared that industrial cooperation with Pakistan will be “further strengthened.” He arrived in the historic city of Lahore on Saturday for a civic reception in the scenic Mughal-built Shalimar gardens.
Hu, who became the first Chinese leader in a decade to visit Beijing’s close ally, declared at the reception that the Sino-Pakistan strategic partnership would remain intact under all circumstances.
“The changing global scenario with critical challenges or the situation in the region will not affect our evergreen friendship,” he said.
The Chinese leader who flew into Islamabad on Friday after a trip to India, said the friendship between Pakistan and China was “vital to the stability in the region.” Pakistan and China signed 18 agreements in economic, trade, social and defense fields. China also pledged to play a constructive role in resolving disputes between Pakistan and India.
A wide-ranging joint statement issued on Saturday hailed continued close ties in the fields of defense, energy, trade, agriculture, information technology, combating terrorism, culture and tourism. “China will continue to view its relations with Pakistan from a strategic and long-term perspective and work together with Pakistan to elevate the China-Pakistan strategic partnership to a new high,” the statement said.
It added that China thanked Pakistan for its “valuable support on such issues as Taiwan, Tibet and human rights.”
“The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, including fossil fuels, coal, hydro-power, nuclear power, renewable sources of energy as well as in the mining and resources sector,” it said.
The two countries also vowed to jointly combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, saying those “three forces” posed great threats to regional peace, stability and security.
