Visit of Premier Jiabao

[ajpirzada]

Wen Visits Pakistan to Revive Road-Rail Network From China to Persian Gulf
By Khurrum Anis and James Rupert - Dec 17, 2010 7:48 AM GMT+0500

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Wen Jiabao, China's prime minister, seen here in New Delhi, India, yesterday, travels to Pakistan today. Photographer: Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao travels to Pakistan today for a visit that officials say may revive a planned road-rail network linking China to the Persian Gulf.

Pakistan also hopes to sign business agreements valued at $20 billion with executives from companies traveling with Wen, Defense Minister Chaudhary Mukhtar Ahmed, said yesterday.

Wen and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet today to discuss how to make the Chinese-built port of Gwadar operational, Gilani told journalists on Dec. 15, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. The port, which lacks a rail or multi-lane highway link to the rest of Pakistan, is envisioned as the terminus of a transport corridor that would carry Middle Eastern oil and other goods to western China.

Chinese engineers have finished a feasibility study for a railroad and pipeline from Gwadar to the western Chinese city of Kashgar. It would follow the route of the China-built Karakoram Highway, a Chinese specialist on Pakistan, Li Xiguang, wrote on Dec. 14 in the Global Times, an English-language website controlled by the ruling Communist Party’s official newspaper.

A transport corridor to Gwadar “will provide China with the shortest possible route to the oil-rich Middle East, replacing the dangerous maritime route” around Southeast Asia, Li wrote.

Gwadar is currently connected to the business hub of Karachi and the rest of Pakistan by a 450-kilometer (280-mile) road, most of it two lanes, that has suffered repeated flood damage in recent years. “Poor road connectivity” limits its traffic to no more than three ships at a time, said Faisal Jawaid of port operator PSA Gwadar Ltd., a unit of Singapore- based PSA International.

India Leg

Wen will fly to Pakistan from New Delhi, where he and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed yesterday to boost bilateral trade by two-thirds to $100 billion by 2015. The two leaders omitted any mention of tensions between their countries over China’s close ties with Pakistan, with which India has fought three wars, two of them over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Gilani told reporters that Pakistan faces no threat from the growing China-India relationship, the APP said. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has been a regular traveler to China since heading there for his first state visit after being elected in September 2008.

Reactor Concern

The budding bilateral relationship has triggered U.S. concern over China’s plan to add two nuclear reactors to a power-plant complex in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The U.S. has said China should get approval from the 46-country Nuclear Suppliers’ Group, which works to avoid the uncontrolled spread of nuclear technology.

Pakistan may seek Chinese investment in five state-owned enterprises and offer to host an electric-car manufacturing plant, its industries ministry said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “Some of the areas of investment include steel, automobile, electronics and domestic appliances,” it said

The ministry said it hopes Chinese businesses may put money into Heavy Mechanical Complex Ltd., a builder of armored vehicles for Pakistan’s military based in Taxila, near Islamabad, the Haripur-based Heavy Electrical Complex Ltd., and the Pakistan Machine Tool Factory and Pakistan Engineering Co. Ltd., which are both based in Karachi.

Wen will lay the ground for the opening of a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Li wrote. He is also set to address Pakistan’s National Assembly.

To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@bloomberg.net; Khurrum Anis in Karachi, Pakistan kkhan14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Austin at billaustin@bloomberg.net,

Wen Visits Pakistan to Revive Road-Rail Network From China to Persian Gulf - Bloomberg

 

[Hyde]

Chinese PM arrives in Islamabad​

Updated at: 1311 PST, Friday, December 17, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao arrived in the federal capital today on a three-day official visit.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Gilani himself received his Chinese counterpart at the airport. Dozens of chief executives of companies and 150 business leaders are accompanying the Chinese premier.

The visit will be a unique opportunity for the two countries to enhance their trade and commercial ties. Many commercial deals will be signed during the visit.

Up to $20 billion worth of projects with Chinese help have been completed in Pakistan. Work on projects of $14 billion is continuing at present, while projects of another $20 billion are expected to be signed between the two sides.

Chinese prime minister will also address the joint session of the parliament which will be followed by his interaction with media personnel.

 

[Super Falcon]

what about defence projects to be signed on this trip we were expecting J 10 Deal for last 5 years time to be signed if it is not signed in this occasion than forget it i think and what about the Chinece song class deal in which pakistani navy was interested

 

[Hyde]

what about defence projects to be signed on this trip we were expecting J 10 Deal for last 5 years time to be signed if it is not signed in this occasion than forget it i think and what about the Chinece song class deal in which pakistani navy was interested

we already have so many joint projects on defence with china

Our first priority should be economic development

I wouldn't mind if they don't sign any defence deal in this visit but I want 25 billion dollars right now

 

[abrahams]

i really wish china would aid pakistan in becoming a very prosperous country...

china is a huge market....

 

[Developereo]

Nobody is watching this visit more closely than Washington.
Not even New Delhi.

 

[bc040400065]

Jiabao arrives today: Opening new vistas of cooperation

ISLAMABAD: When Pakistan announced that it would stay away from this year’s Nobel Prize ceremony because one of the winners was a Chinese dissident, it appeared to be relaying a very loud message simultaneously to Beijing and Washington.

Pro-West policies apart, Islamabad would never compromise on its ties with China at any cost.

Often hailed as higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the Indian Ocean, relations between Pakistan and China have always been much more than simple diplomacy run by officials in an emotionless, mechanical way.

“There are several natural factors that turn Islamabad-Beijing diplomatic relations into a kind of romance,” commented Irfan Shahzad, who has been observing ties between the two countries for years now at an Islamabad think tank as a researcher.

“They (relations) are primarily driven by the interdependence. That’s why both countries have been indispensible for each other right from their infancy.

It is perhaps this interdependence that is forcing Islamabad to look towards Beijing when the country struggles to overcome a chronic political instability and almost crippling economy.

And China has never let its troubled neighbour down and, as it looks, it never will.

This, observers say, is the message Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would arrive in Islamabad with on Friday at the head of a 250-strong delegation of entrepreneurs from his country with bags full of cash to invest.

Islamabad is hoping a lot from the tour that comes on the heels of Wen’s trip to New Delhi where he had been trying to charm Indian political and business leaders to help the two countries set aside a decade-old border dispute to focus on capitalising opportunities available to them.

Already in Islamabad on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani set an agenda for Wen’s tour by saying that Pakistan was considering an even greater role for China in its deep-sea port in Gwadar.

The port off the shores of Balochistan has been at the centre of Sino-Pak relations of late.

For Beijing, the facility can be a lifeline for its ever-surging exports to the outside world.

The Pakistan government has recently been dropping hints to scrap a deal for the 40-year lease of Gwadar port with Singapore Port Authority (SPA) for running the operations of the port.

Chinese export-oriented economy has been helping the country and has a very entrenched political clout in the region and in the world, a fact Pakistan seems to be aware of.

“That’s why there has been a tilt, though very cautious, towards Beijing recently,” said Shahzad, whose Institute of Policy (IPS) think tank focuses on China and Central Asia.

Look East policy has of late been the buzzword in Pakistan’s diplomatic and political corridors. Though its features are still vague, experts argue it presents a blueprint for Pakistan’s future diplomacy.

Unlike Islamabad’s relations with West, Sino-Pak ties are not driven by ‘artificial’ factors like political expediency and security concerns.

“There has always been a win-win situation for both. They have a lot to offer each other and that has been the hallmark,” Irfan added.

As China looks for what is referred as trade corridors through Pakistan soil and sea, Islamabad is hoping for several gains from the relationship as well.

Above all is civilian nuclear cooperation to overcome its energy woes getting deeper with the times.

Whether Islamabad confined itself to symbolic gestures like boycotting at international forums any move that hurts Chinese interests or go further than that is expected to be clear after the trip, albeit partially.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17th, 2010.


Jiabao arrives today: Opening new vistas of cooperation – The Express Tribune

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Well we cant just spoil our relations with our best bud China just coz of US tht cant be trusted.

But we do want good relations with usa...... they should change their policies.

 

[PAFAce]

Just watched the welcoming ceremony on PTV. There can be no doubt that this is a big visit and that we deeply value China's alliance. A 21 Gun salute, JF-17 fly-by, fighter escort, Guard of Honor Inspection, the whole nine yards. Not to mention that Chiefs of all three service staffs were present (which I hadn't expected).

Only thing we didn't have there were regular Pakistanis cheering at the top of their lungs, but I guess that can be attributed to Ashura and security.

I would like to see how we welcome Obama in 2011 and compare it with this. There must be subtle differences to let them know who has been a far greater ally.

 

[GUNNER]

One of the channels has aired the visuals of JF-17 Jets escorting Chinese Prime Minister's aircraft. There were four of them and looked awesome. Hopefully will be able to post a video soon !

 

[GUNNER]

 

[ChinaRocks]

Nobody is watching this visit more closely than Washington.
Not even New Delhi.

Exactly right the india vist was just a business trip nothing else, The pakistan visit is political, military , strategic + econmics all into one.

 

[houshanghai]

 

[ChinaRocks]

YouTube - JF-17s escort Chinese prime minister

Awaesome Pakistan really making us proud thank you

 

[bc040400065]

Factbox: Some of the agreements between China, Pakistan

ISLAMABAD | Fri Dec 17, 2010 7:59am EST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - China and Pakistan are expected to sign a number of agreements during Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's visit which began on Friday.

Total value of the deals will be between $10 billion and $14 billion, with another $4.8 billion in commercial deals to be signed on Saturday. Here are some details.

* China will provide about $200 million in grants for flood reconstruction, mainly for roads and bridges.

* China will provide a $30 million grant to develop Pakistan's agricultural sector.

* The Safe City Islamabad project, aimed at increasing security in the Pakistani capital, will get about $195 million for surveillance cameras, command and control centers and giant scanners for trucks at the entry points to the city.

* Two other deals are related to improving the Karakorum Highway and setting up working groups on major energy projects such as coal, hydroelectric dams, oil and gas exploration and alternative energy.

* The two governments also will sign a deal to set up the National Electronic Complex of Pakistan (NECOP), for research and development as well as information technology and civilian and defense electronics.

Estimated to cost around $300 million, the complex will be launched in cooperation with China's state-owned CETC International. The government of Pakistan is expected to provide $100 million for the project, alongside a Chinese grant of $50 million. The remaining amount would come in the form of soft loans from China.

(Reporting by Augustine Anthony in Islamabad and Faisal Aziz in Karachi; Writing by Chris Allbritton; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Factbox: Some of the agreements between China, Pakistan | Reuters