President Zardari to go on 4-day visit to China

[Omar1984]

China vows to advance relations with Pakistan

2009-02-22

WUHAN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday said it would work with Pakistan to enhance the all-weather friendship and multi-tier cooperation to benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional peace and development.

State Councilor Dai Bingguo made the remarks when meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province.

"To promote the development of Sino-Pakistani friendship is our unswerving policy," Dai said, noting that the country always treated relations with Pakistan from a strategic height and a long-term perspective.

Dai hoped the two countries would upgrade the bilateral relations into a new level.

Zardari spoke highly of the Pakistan-China diplomatic relations, saying that the two nations had increasingly cemented traditional friendship and expanded cooperation in various areas in the past 50-odd years.

The president said Pakistan was grateful for China's support to its economic and social progress.

The Pakistani government would continue its friendly policy towards China, and make joint efforts with the country to deepen the mutually-beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, energy, agriculture and finance, Zardari told Dai.

Zardari and Dai also attended the signing ceremony of an agreement on trade between the two governments.

Zardari accepted a joint interview with local press before meeting with Dai. He said his country and China enjoyed comprehensive relationship, not only between political parties but also between the two peoples. He expected more efforts by the two sides to lift the existing profound friendship to a new high.

The president welcomed more Chinese businesses to invest in Pakistan, saying that his country had geographic advantage and its ports could help Chinese products enter south Asia.

"We wish a success for the business exchanges with China," he noted.

Zardari and his delegation arrived in Wuhan Friday evening, kicking off his second China visit.

This Hubei tour was mainly aimed to expand cooperation between the two sides in agriculture and water conservancy. The president witnessed the signing of four cooperation memorandums concerning agriculture, water conservancy and exchanges between Hubei and Pakistan's Sindh Province.

Zardari will also visit the Three Gorges Project in Yichang, another city of Hubei, to study its management and technology. He is scheduled to leave Hubei for Shanghai Sunday afternoon to continue his China tour.

He paid a four-day state visit to China in October last year, during which the two countries signed 12 deals ranging from trade and minerals to agriculture and satellites.


Editor: Mu Xuequan

China vows to advance relations with Pakistan_English_Xinhua

 

[Omar1984]

Pictures from the visit. Gotta love Zardari's million dollar smile

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (R) meets with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (L) in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (L4) meets with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (R5) in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

Central China's Hubei Province Governor Li Hongzhong (3rd R) meets with visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (3rd L) in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, Feb. 21, 2009.(Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

Central China's Hubei Province Governor Li Hongzhong (2nd R) meets with visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (2nd L) in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, Feb. 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

 

[Omar1984]

Central China's Hubei Province Governor Li Hongzhong (L, front) meets with visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, Feb. 21, 2009. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

Visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (3rd L) addresses the opening ceremony of China(Hubei)--- Pakistan Agriculture and Water Resources Cooperation Forum in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Feb. 21, 2009.(Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

 

[Omar1984]

Photo taken on Feb. 21, 2009 shows the meeting hall of China(Hubei)--- Pakistan Agriculture and Water Resources Cooperation Forum held in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

 

[Neo]

China allays Pakistan's fears by promising unswerving friendship​

22 Feb 2009

BEIJING: Dai Bingguo, China's highest ranking legislator, has assured visiting Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari that Beijing will do all that
is necessary to further cement the relationship between the two countries.

"To promote the development of Sino-Pakistani friendship is our unswerving policy," Dai, who holds the position of State Councillor, told Zardari in east China's Wuhan city late yesterday evening. China has always treated relations with Pakistan from "a strategic height and a long-term perspective," he said.

Dai is believed to have discussed with Zardari a wide range of political issues in South Asia including the Mumbai attack and the controversial Swat peace deal being offered to Taliban led forces in the tribal areas of Pakistan. But there was no confirmation on this score from official spokespersons on either side.

The Chinese official media has been sympathetic about the Pakistani government's versions of the Mumbai attack story. At another level, Pakistan is looking for Chinese support for the Swat deal at a time when it is being opposed by western nations including the United States, sources said.

The Communist Party of China recently demonstrated its deep interested in Pakistan's political situation by signing an agreement with the Islamist Jamat-e-Islami. Zardari has reasons to be worried about Beijing doing a deal with a party that is opposed to his interests.

Top Chinese leaders were playing host to Hilary Clinton, the US secretary of State, in the same when Zardari is visiting east China. This is why political inputs from Zardari could be of great help to Chinese leaders during the Clinton visit.

Pakistan is worried about a possible weakening in the Sino-Pakistan relationship at a time when Beijing's worldview is colored by the global financial crisis and its need to protect the US market for Chinese products, sources said. Chinese leaders, who were very close to former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf are yet to familiarize themselves with Zardari.

Dai's meeting with Zardari resulted in China signing an agreement with Pakistan for cooperation in hydel power generation on Sunday. Under the agreement signed by Li Yong'an, head of the Three Gorges Project Corporation, which is the world's largest dam project, China has agreed to provide technical assistance to Pakistan in the field of hydel power generation.

Zardari told his Chinese hosts that the purpose of his three day visit to east China was to study the Chinese model of power generation and development in agriculture sector. The Pakistani president is not visiting Beijing on this second visit to China.

 

[batmannow]

Sino-Pakistan relations higher than Himalayas

By Asif Ali Zardari
(China Daily)

Updated: 2009-02-23 07:33
www.China Daily.com

Perhaps no relationship between two sovereign states is as unique and durable as that between Pakistan and China. On the Pakistan side of the Himalayas, the mighty range that separates the two countries, China is seen as a true, time tested and reliable friend that has always come through for Pakistan. That the Pakistan-China friendship is higher than the peaks of Himalayas is now a truism without exaggeration. I am certain that on the Chinese side a similar sentiment exists for Pakistan. It is a friendship rooted in the hearts and minds of the people of the two countries.

It is my privilege to visit China for the second time as Pakistani president. For me the Pakistan-China friendship is a beautiful legacy bequeathed by Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's legendary Foreign and Prime Minister and his daughter and my late wife Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, also a beloved Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The Pakistan Peoples Party and our family have had a three-generation relationship with China. From Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and then my late wife Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to my son and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the friendship continues into the future.

I cannot but feel excited whenever I visit China. It brings great pleasure to see a friend such as China prospering and progressing. Present day China is a shining star on the international scene. It represents a phenomenal renaissance of the ancient and great Chinese Civilization. The Chinese economic miracle is a lesson in sound management and solid governance. The manner in which China is developing its infrastructure is an inspiration for countries across the world. The Xining-Lhasa railroad, the Three Gorges Dam and countless other projects bear testimony to Chinese industry and vision.

The Pakistan-China friendship is a comprehensive partnership. China has been instrumental in helping Pakistan develop its civil and military infrastructure. It has helped Pakistan's economic development. Chinese assistance and enterprise has been invaluable in areas as diverse as construction of nuclear power plants to dams, roads and industrial estates. The port of Gwadar on Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast is a testament to China's friendship with Pakistan.
It is my sincere desire to further cement this relationship. There is no reason the two countries cannot grow even closer. China has become the economic engine of Asia. It is among the sheet anchors of the international trading and economic system. In the present global economic downturn, China is among the few countries that have the economic muscle to pull the world out of it.

China's trade with many of its neighbors is increasing at a dizzying pace. Pakistan needs to join this trend. I believe there is great potential for improvement in this vital area. Pakistan-China economic and trade relations must keep pace with political relations between the two countries. We have therefore placed economic cooperation and trade at the heart of this relationship. The two countries have a joint five-year economic plan to give predictability and to allow forward planning in various areas of economic cooperation. We also have a free trade agreement with China and hope to finalize a trade in services agreement shortly.

Our objective is to forge win-win partnerships in which both countries gain and which further contribute to the strength of the friendship.


Pakistan too can help in China's growth. The global economic downturn may have slowed things down but as the world emerges out of this recession and China resumes its breakneck growth, Chinese ports are going to get clogged. Given proper infrastructure, the Pakistani ports of Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar are nearer to the Chinese heartland than Shanghai and Hong Kong. Pakistan can also help channel energy supplies from the Gulf to China. Pakistan is also a sizeable country in its own right. Once we get our economic fundamentals right we can be a useful economic partner, a significant market and a profitable destination for investment.

However in the final analysis it is not just the material benefits of a relationship that determine its durability and longevity. The Pakistan-China relationship is much more than a strategic confluence of interests between two countries. The foundation of the relationship, which Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had the vision to pursue and cement, is that both countries firmly believe in the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference and bilateral cooperation. They share a close commonality of views on most international issues.

China is an anchor of stability and peace not only in Asia but the world. Its peaceful rise in a continent full of large countries each with a strong sense of identity, even destiny, bears testimony to the sagacity and wisdom of the Chinese leadership. Situated in the heart of Asia, bordering fourteen countries with Japan and the Philippines just across the Yellow and South China Seas, China is the glue holding the continent together - not only in terms of geography but in political and economic terms.

It is amongst the largest if not the largest trading partner of all the countries bordering it. Each of these countries has increasingly large stakes in China's economy and each in turn is benefiting from the traction generated by this enormous engine of growth.

China is therefore in a unique position to use these attributes to help its neighboring countries improve relations among and between themselves. For too long, Asia has been distracted by rivalries and conflicts between its many great countries. The time has come for Asia to show the world a different path where cooperation leads the way and where mutual respect and increasing bonds of trade and economic benefit help overcome hostility and suspicion.

As Pakistan grapples with the threat of terrorism, China can help in this area too. Pakistan is fighting terrorists not only for its own sake but for the entire region. We are determined not to allow the noxious fumes of this dangerous phenomenon and ideology to spread to other countries. Thousands of Pakistani citizens, civilian and military, have laid down their lives in this endeavor. Indeed terrorists have specifically targeted some of our Chinese friends who were working in Pakistan to drive a wedge between the two countries and peoples. The sacrifice of these Chinese citizens for Pakistan's cause is an abiding reminder to us Pakistanis of China's friendship with our country.

This time I will visit Wuhan and Yichang of Hubei province, and Shanghai to see for myself some of the engines that lie behind China's economic growth. I hope to learn and benefit from the opportunity. I hope that the coming days will help furnish better reminders of our enduring friendship and I hope my visit will serve as one more step in that direction.

Asif Ali Zardari is the President of Pakistan(China Daily 02/23/2009 page4)

 

[batmannow]

Zardari offers China access to warm waters

Updated : Saturday February 21 , 2009 7:13:56 PM




WUHAN, China: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday expressed his strongest desire to strengthen the already cordial relationships between China and Pakistan and said China can get access to its ports for trading with the rest of the world.

In a joint interview with local television channels, radio and newspaper, the President said that some of the Chinese companies located in central China will find it convenient to trade through Pakistani ports which are nearer than their own.

“We will encourage Chinese companies to come to Pakistan as Pakistan is geo-strategically located and provides them access to the rest of the world through its warm waters,” he added.

When asked how he assessed the cooperation and relationships between the two countries, he said these were over 50 years old in which three generations of Bhutto family played a very positive role.

“My party and my government want to strengthen these relations which are historical and very vast and we are proud of China’s progress.”

When asked how he will describe these relations in one sentence, he replied it was not possible for him to summarize them.

“I wish one million Chinese were in Pakistan and one million Pakistanis were in China and take this relationship to another level.”

The President appreciated Chinese media and said it has always been very positive towards Pakistan and played an important role in strengthening the bilateral relations.

 

[Bull]

Mushraff had his salute, Zaradari has his smile.

 

[ajpirzada]

Asif’s China visit full of hope



Monday, February 23, 2009
By Waqar Mehdi

Signing an agreement or MoU with a foreign country is normally considered helpful but if the foreign country happens to be the time-tested friend, China, then the entire exercise becomes not only helpful but also a source of strength, stability and prosperity.

President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to China is being seen by many as a sagacious decision with a good sense of timing. More appreciation has come for Asif Ali Zardari’s plan to pay quarterly visits to China. It owes more to the immense goodwill of Chinese leadership towards their Pakistani counterparts that they have provided such an enabling environment. And the matter doesn’t remain limited to the provision of enabling environment alone. The Beijing leadership has rather reposed confidence in the incumbent Islamabad leadership that has provided it the encouragement to solicit the Chinese friends’ support in the hour of need and at other times of the year.

Pakistan People’s Party’s top echelons take pride in exceptionally cordial Sino-Pak ties that can be aptly termed a source of strength for Pakistan in particular.

It is not without a background. In fact, it was the founder of the Pakistan People’s Party, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who laid the foundation of deep Sino-Pak friendship. The Chinese value that friendship to this day and also remember the role played by the then Pakistani leaders for bringing about a thaw in frozen (or sour) Sino-US ties. The fine diplomacy displayed by senior Bhutto during those times and then by Bhutto’s daughter, Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, continue, to this day, to be a source of inspiration for the Chinese leaders and people.

Pakistan too values the Chinese friendship more than it values its ties with any other country of the world. May it be normal times or any difficult phase through which the country is passing, China has always come to Pakistan’s help without fail and without any preconditions. Even at present, the Beijing government has shown exceptional cooperation by offering assistance and guidance in different areas.

Take, for example, President Zardari’s visit to China, starting from Wuhan, one of the largest cities of China and the capital of Hubei province which has seen, during recent years, mammoth growth in industrial, trade and commercial activities. Following his visit to Wuhan, Zardari will go to Yichang. The areas discussed above have seen immense development including development in the power generation sector. The world’s biggest dam of its kind, the Three Gorges Dam, is situated here. President Zardari’s China tour includes a visit to The Three Gorges Dam besides participation in a conference on agriculture. Zardari’s interaction with agriculture officials has also been planned along with a briefing to the Pakistani head of state on how the Chinese achieved tremendous success in the areas of power generation and expansion of agricultural produce. In all, the primary focus of this visit is economic relations. The president of Pakistan is also scheduled to visit Shanghai. During the visit, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and one agreement will be signed. They include MoU on hybrid rice between the Government of Sindh and the Hubei Provincial Seed Group and an MoU on Oil Seeds between Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and Hubei Seed Group.

An FTA Agreement on Services is also being signed. In October 2008, during President Asif Ali Zardari’s first visit to China, the FTA on Trade was signed.

In Hubei Province, the president is also attending the China-Pakistan Agriculture and Water Resources Forum besides visiting one of the world’s largest fiber optics companies, the Fiberhome Company, and having meetings at “Poly Technologies” and Gezhoaba and Dongfeng Motors.

In Shanghai, the president is going to have interaction with financial institutions, including ICBC, Bank of Communications, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

And the schedule also includes President Zardari’s meetings with China Mobile and ZTE, as well interaction with think-tanks (Shanghai Institute of International Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and Fudan University) besides a visit to under-construction Pakistan Navy frigate at Hudong Shipyard.

As gathered from the agenda of the visit, Zardari’s visit is full of promise and hope not that some agreements and MoUs are being signed but because of the faith that our Chinese friends have shown, time and again, in Pakistan’s bright future. The way China has come forward to strengthen Pakistan, is unprecedented in the area of international relations. Seizing the opportunity provided by this faith in us and making optimal use of it not only to diversify the relations but also to seek knowledge and concrete help for industrial and agricultural growth, is a well-calculated move on the part of Zardari establishment that seems fully determined to offset the negatives with positives, courtesy China’s time-tested friendship.

Even the good sense of timing seems to be very much there in President Zardari’s China visit as, at present, Pakistan is at crossroads being caught in the cobweb of international apprehensions and suspicions. At such a critical juncture, looking towards the sincere-most friend, China reflects wiser thinking of Islamabad administration. Of course, it is not only going to bring us economic gains through enhanced cooperation in trade, energy and other pivotal sectors but also through our morale-building that China has been doing for quite some time in dead earnest with the same faith in our prosperous and stable future.

As for the ties in the economic sector, like Pakistan, many advanced countries of the world are looking towards China since the latter is the third largest among the biggest economies of the world with foreign exchange reserves of over two trillion dollars.

There is no way why shouldn’t we expect of the Zardari’s visit to yield much better and fruitful results in the form of opening up of new vistas of cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture and energy and in further strengthening of the two economies on the basis of mutuality, reciprocity and trust.

The writer is Special Assistant to the CM Sindh for Press and Media waqar_mehdi2000@yahoo.com

Asif’s China visit full of hope

 

[IceCold]

None of the updates on his visit included any news related to the J-10 which brings us back to the original question, where do we stand on this particular issue? Are we going to see any J-10s at the end of the year?

 

[Omar1984]

Never did a leader of Pakistan ever had a smile like Zardari's. I admit it's a winning smile.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, left, and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, right, greet each other prior to a meeting Monday Feb. 23, 2009 in Shanghai, China. Zardari is wrapping up the 4-day official visit in China after visiting Wuhan and Shanghai to talk about the cooperation between the two countries in various areas. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

 

[dbc]

"Someday, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me." - Don Corleone The Godfather

Any of you ever wonder what China may want from Pakistan in the future?

 

[Awesome]

"Someday, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me." - Don Corleone The Godfather

Any of you ever wonder what China may want from Pakistan in the future?

They made us an offer we can't refuse .

Countries ask each other for favors. China's national interests are not probably going to be against ours. If that favor is in our national interest, then Pakistan would go out of the way to help China.

 

[Awesome]

Never did a leader of Pakistan ever had a smile like Zardari's. I admit it's a winning smile.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, left, and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, right, greet each other prior to a meeting Monday Feb. 23, 2009 in Shanghai, China. Zardari is wrapping up the 4-day official visit in China after visiting Wuhan and Shanghai to talk about the cooperation between the two countries in various areas. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Hehehe, it's an evil grin man.

Zardari manages to get a lot of things on the table, no doubt about that. But for some reason we never see those things arrive in Pakistan.

 

[dbc]

They made us an offer we can't refuse .

Good one !!

Countries ask each other for favors. China's national interests are not probably going to be against ours. If that favor is in our national interest, then Pakistan would go out of the way to help China.

Well it's difficult to read the Chinese Government, they're not exactly transparent. There is some element of quid pro quo in every relation. Has your nation reached a stage where you are so indebted to the Chinese that you simply cannot say no...like Bonasera in Godfather....