Pakistan president visits China

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, is on his first official visit to China with a view to securing more Chinese investments for his country, reported AlJazeera.

Zardari's four-day trip to China, which concludes on Friday, demonstrates Pakistan's willingness to raise the "time-tested relationship to new heights", Pakistan's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Zardari, who became president last month, is expected to reach an agreement with Beijing which will encourage Chinese investment, the statement said.

Bilateral trade between the two nations is over $7bn a year but they are aiming to increase this amount to $15bn a year by 2011.

"I'm looking forward to visiting China ... I am hoping to remind the leadership of the world how close our relationship is," Zardari told Xinhua, China's official news agency, before his trip.

A deal between Pakistan and China on civil nuclear power is also thought to be up for discussion during Zardari's visit.

An agreement on civil nuclear power would follow a similar deal between India and the United States.

Qin Gang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing and Islamabad shared "sound co-operation in nuclear energy" but did not give any details on any deal.

"I would like to stress our co-operation is totally consistent with the two countries' respective international obligations and is totally for peaceful purpose and subject to IAEA [a UN nuclear inspectorate] supervision," Qin said on Tuesday.

Zardari is scheduled to hold talks with Hu Jintao, China's president, and Wen Jiabao, China's prime minister, during his trip.