Chinese engineers escape Karachi bomb ahead of Premier Li's arrival in Pakistan

Bomb explodes near the seafront in Karachi, but no one was hurt.

ISLAMABAD: A roadside bomb exploded near the seafront in Karachi on Tuesday likely targeting a van full of Chinese port workers, police said, a day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in the capital, Islamabad. No one was hurt.

"Apparently, the Chinese who are working at the harbour were the target of the explosion," senior police officer Nasir Aftab told Reuters.

Li arrives in Islamabad on Wednesday on the second leg of his first official trip since taking office in March after a visit to India.

Pakistan and China consider each other "all-weather friends". Their close ties have been underpinned by wariness of India and a desire to hedge against US influence across the region.

In 2004, two Chinese engineers working in Pakistan were kidnapped by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. One was later rescued but the other killed.