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Musharraf set to seal N-plant deal
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- The leaders of China and Pakistan were set to finalise a deal on Monday for Chinese help in building a multi-million dollar nuclear power plant in Pakistan, the second such facility to be made with Beijing's assistance. The agreement was expected to be signed during Musharraf's first visit to China since Hu Jintao took power as Communist Party boss last November and president in March along with a cohort of younger Chinese leaders. Musharraf arrived in Beijing on Monday after attending the Boao Forum for Asia in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan at the weekend. His visit comes on the heels of joint naval exercises between Pakistan and China, its main supplier of military hardware, off the coast of Shanghai late last month. Those exercises were China's first with a foreign navy. China's Foreign Ministry said the visit would help strengthen ties with Pakistan, a long-standing ally and friend. "You are an old friend of the Chinese people, and for many years you have worked for the development of our friendship and cooperation," Hu told Musharraf. But in a sign China is taking a more balanced approach towards its relations with South Asia, an Indian diplomat said China and India, Pakistan's arch foe, were planning joint naval search-and-rescue exercises in mid-November. The Indian vessels would also likely make a port call in Shanghai, he said. Military links deniedEnergy experts say the 300-megawatt nuclear power project, agreed in principle during a visit by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali to Beijing in March, is estimated to cost $600 million and will take at least six years to complete. The United States has repeatedly urged China to stop its nuclear cooperation with Pakistan, but both Beijing and Islamabad say they are not working together for military purposes. Pakistan conducted five nuclear tests just weeks after India carried out three such tests in May 1998. Analysts say China played a crucial role in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme. Asked if Pakistan would discuss getting early warning systems like AWACS from China, after a similar deal between India and Israel, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan declined to give details. "Pakistan and China have very strong relations, and this relationship encompasses economic and defence dimensions and definitely during President Musharraf's visit to China both countries would try to reinforce and strengthen their multi-dimensional relationships, and that includes defence cooperation," Khan said. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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