Hu adds new hues to 145;evergreen146; Pak relationship

Officials said the trade agreement could triple bilateral trade to 15 billion dollars within five years in a key move for both the Asian economic giant and its fast-developing neighbour.

8220;This serves the fundamental interests of our two peoples and is also conducive to the peace and development of our region,8221; Hu told a news conference after hour-long talks with Musharraf on Friday.

8220;We want to work with Pakistan to raise our strategic ties to a new level,8221; added the Chinese leader, the first to visit Pakistan for a decade.

Hu was greeted with a 21-gun salute after arriving on Thursday from New Delhi and Mumbai. Musharraf, whose country is keen to reinforce its 55-year-old ties with Beijing amid concern India and China are becoming increasingly close, said the 8220;evergreen relationship of Pakistan and China will remain for all time.8221;

The presidents watched their ministers of commerce ink the trade pact and other accords, including a separate five-year development programme, which the Chinese news agency Xinhua said was the first of its kind for Beijing.

They also agreed to set up a joint investment company.

But while Hu said that Beijing would carry on cooperating with Pakistan8217;s nuclear power industry8212; China has built one reactor here and is helping to construct another8212; he did not announce any new deal.

Pakistani officials had earlier dismissed 8220;speculative8221; reports that China would unveil a major new atomic agreement with Pakistan similar to one made between its arch-rival India and the United States earlier this year.

Asked about Pakistan8217;s strained relationship with India due to the half-century dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, Hu said that a peaceful resolution would benefit the whole region.

8220;South Asian countries are close neighbours to China. As a neighbour to both, China sincerely hopes peace and stability to be maintained on the subcontinent,8221; Hu told the news conference.

Separately, Pakistan8217;s air force said it had agreed with China to jointly develop aircraft equipped with long-range early warning radars. 8220;The same may be delivered to Pakistan in coming years,8221; it said in a statement.

Beijing remains Islamabad8217;s largest arms supplier and the two are jointly developing the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft. China has also invested millions of dollars in a deep sea port in southwest Pakistan to access the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan will later on Friday give Hu the rare honour of addressing the nation live on state television, becoming the first foreign leader to do so since then-US president Bill Clinton in 2000.

Hu and Musharraf are also expected to inaugurate a special economic zone in Lahore when the Chinese leader travels to the historic eastern city on Saturday.