Zardari's visit cements all-weather partnership

By Xiao Yang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-16 07:10

President Hu Jintao and his visiting Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari highlighted the historic friendship between the two countries in a meeting Wednesday and pledged to push forward with their all-round partnership.

Chinese President Hu Jintao greets his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari during a welcoming ceremony attend a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 15, 2008. Zardari arrived on Tuesday for his first visit to China as president and highlighted the historic friendship between the two countries in a meeting Wednesday and pledged to push forward with their all-round partnership. [Agencies]

"The only way I could do justice to the memory of my late wife and my late father-in-law was to make sure that my first state visit as president was to China," Zardari said at the beginning of the summit, referring to his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated last December, and his late father-in-law, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

"I'm hoping to assist to take the China-Pakistan relationship further along. It is a duty which history has bestowed upon me," Zardari said.

Hu replied that the two were "old friends of the Chinese people".

"Ali Bhutto and Benazir Butto made prominent contributions to the initiation and development of the China-Pakistan relationship, which the Chinese people will never forget," he said.

Hu said China "attaches great importance to the China-Pakistan relationship and has always made the development of the relationship China's diplomatic priority".

After their talks, the two presidents attended a ceremony for the signing of 11 pacts ranging from agriculture, mining and environmental protection to space technology.

Chinese President Hu Jintao gestures with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari (L) during an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing October 15, 2008. Zardari arrived on Tuesday for his first visit to China as president and highlighted the historic friendship between the two countries in a meeting Wednesday and pledged to push forward with their all-round partnership. [Agencies]

Among them, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a space industry service provider, was contracted to launch a telecommunications satellite for Pakistan in the first half of 2011 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, CGWIC sources told China Daily. It is the first deal of its kind China has signed with an Asian customer.

Zardari received a red-carpet welcome and a 21-gun salute outside the Great Hall of the People before his meeting with Hu.

In an interview with Xinhua, Zardari said he expected to prioritize economic ties with China during his visit.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said earlier Zardari's visit would boost political and economic ties and show the two nations' commitment to an "all-weather" partnership.

Zardari, who described himself as "the first businessman president of Pakistan", is scheduled to meet a number of Chinese business leaders from such industries as finance, infrastructure, energy, materials and telecommunications.

Addressing a business forum Wednesday, Zardari said that an economic zone would be set up to facilitate Chinese investors in Pakistan.

Bilateral trade was more than $7 billion last year; and the two sides have set a target of $15 billion annually by 2011.

Agencies contributed to the story

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