China, Pakistan vow to step up fight against terrorism

China and Pakistan pledged to step up joint efforts against terrorism on Wednesday.


Agencies July 08, 2010

BEIJING:


China and Pakistan pledged to step up joint efforts against terrorism on Wednesday as the presidents of the two countries vowed to expand trade and economic cooperation, state media said. The two sides also signed six deals of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, justice, media, economy and technology.

Chinese President Hu Jintao welcomed his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari to the Great Hall of the People where the two leaders expressed their commitment to deepening ties in energy, communications and infrastructure construction.

“China and Pakistan are both victims of terrorism,” China Central Television quoted Hu as telling Zardari. “To strengthen Sino-Pak anti-terrorism cooperation and strike at terrorism, separatism and religious extremism is in the fundamental interests of the peoples of both nations.” As a sign of closer cooperation on fighting terrorism, currently a joint anti-terrorism drill, codenamed “Friendship-2010,” is being held between Chinese and Pakistani armed forces in China’s north-western Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Hu urged Pakistan to continue to look out for the safety and security of Chinese nationals and companies in Pakistan following a spate of kidnappings in recent years, it said.

Currently more than 120 Chinese companies and over 10,000 Chinese nationals are engaged in fields like mining, energy exploration and infrastructure in Pakistan.

Zardari is in China until Sunday and will meet with Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and other leaders on Thursday, Chinese diplomats said.

Earlier Zardari met with top Chinese bankers and business executives pledging greater protection for Chinese investment in his nation, his office said in a statement. President Zardari earlier met with top Chinese bankers and business executives pledging greater protection for Chinese investment in his nation. He urged Chinese companies to invest in the energy sector in Pakistan.

Zardari stated that his government was looking towards nuclear, hydro and alternative sources of energy to meet the power demand. His remarks did not touch on a nuclear energy deal with China that has prompted questions from New Delhi, Washington and other quarters. But he made clear that Pakistan was looking to China to help shore up its economy and expand an energy sector that has struggled to keep up with a growing population.

Zardari told the Chinese business chiefs in Beijing that “Pakistan was facing acute power shortage and intended to add tens of thousands of megawatts of power to its national grid in the next 25 years through combined hydro, coal, gas, nuclear and renewable energy sources,” according to an APP report, citing the president’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar.

An executive of China’s Three Gorges Corporation, which runs the hydro power dam in southwest China, said his company agreed to explore hydro and wind power projects in Pakistan, the report said.

China is Pakistan’s strongest ally and Islamabad relies heavily on Beijing for its defence and infrastructure needs. Many Chinese companies operate in Pakistan and China is involved in the construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

China has also agreed to build two new civilian nuclear reactors in Pakistan, the government said in March, amid persistent concerns about the safety of nuclear materials in the restive south Asian state.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2010.

COMMENTS (5)

zain | 13 years ago | Reply why r u all jealous if his daughters r accompanying him? afterall,its a usual practice in the world that first ladies go with their husbands/fathers on international tours.dont politicise it .
eraj danish | 13 years ago | Reply Hope this 50 million is utilized in the interest of citizens in the war against terror as this money is crucial to whitewash the Taliban from region.
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