China will remain 'forever friends' with Pakistan: Wen Jiabao

[VelocuR]

China will remain 'forever friends' with Pakistan: Wen Jiabao

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao assured his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani of China’s “all-weather friendship” on Wednesday, at the start of a visit that sharply contrasts with the intense strain at present between Washington and Islamabad.

“I wish to stress here that no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers,” Wen told Gilani, according to a pool report.

“I do believe that this visit will give a strong boost to the friendship and cooperation between our two countries and take that friendship and cooperation to a new high,” he added, during a meeting in central Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

“I would like to thank your Excellency for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to me and my delegation since our arrival in China,” Gilani told Wen.

“Pakistan and China are close friends and good neighbours. Our all-weather friendship is deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of our two peoples,” Gilani said Wednesday in an earlier speech at a cultural forum in the eastern city of Suzhou.

“Pakistan-China friendship epitomises complete understanding, full trust, mutual cooperation and harmony. It is an abiding friendship based on shared values and ideals.”

Those comments echoed one he gave in an interview with China’s official Xinhua news agency: “We are proud to have China as our best and most trusted friend, and China will always find Pakistan standing beside it at all times.”

Gilani, who arrived in Shanghai late Tuesday, travelled to Beijing on Wednesday, beginning the official part of his visit with a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

During their talks, they were expected to discuss the global fight against terrorism and growing commercial ties, two-way trade totalled $8.7 billion in 2010, up 27.7 percent on-year.

Since the assault on Bin Laden’s compound, which has prompted questions as to whether Pakistan’s powerful security establishment helped him find safe haven, Beijing has repeatedly praised Islamabad’s counter-terrorism efforts.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on Tuesday spoke of Pakistan’s “great sacrifices” in the fight against terrorism and has encouraged the world to assist Islamabad.

During their talks, Wen and Gilani discussed Islamabad’s desire to increase production of the JF-17 — a fighter jet developed by China and Pakistan — and its plans to buy China’s J-10 combat aircraft, Mukhtar said.

The two sides also signed several economic and energy agreements.

Gilani will also seek closer energy links with Beijing, as his Pakistan faces crippling power shortages and weak Western investment in Pakistan’s struggling economy.

Pakistan last week opened a 330-megawatt nuclear power plant in Punjab with Chinese help and said Beijing had been contracted to construct two more reactors.

China also needs Islamabad’s cooperation in stemming potential terrorist threats in its mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan.

But political analysts have said a wary Beijing was unlikely to buttress its verbal backing of Islamabad with significant aid money or other new support out of fear of getting too entangled in the troubled nation’s fortunes.

Gilani is due to meet President Hu Jintao on Friday to wrap up the visit.

 

[VelocuR]

**I would suggest China should beat up Pakistan corrupt politicans (ie. Gilani smile shaking with Kerry yesterday) in failing to protect Pakistan and taught them.

 

[VelocuR]

Key point if anyone missing: “I wish to stress here that no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers,”

 

[Brotherhood]

China unswervingly supports Pakistan's anti-terror efforts: spokeswoman - People's Daily Online May 18, 2011

China said on Tuesday that it will "unswervingly" continue to support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism and urged "relevant countries" to offer further help to the South Asian country.

"Pakistan has made important contributions in fighting terrorism and made great sacrifices," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu during a regular news briefing.

"The Chinese government will unswervingly continue to support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism," said Jiang.

Jiang said that preventing and dealing with terrorist threats is a challenge for the entire international community, and urged more international cooperation regarding the issue.

"We hope relevant countries will continue to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan and provide further help to the country," said Jiang.

Jiang's remarks came as Pakistani Prime Minister Raza Gilani arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for an official visit.

Source: Xinhua

 

[VelocuR]

Some of our Chinese friends suggest Pakistan should get HQ-9 missiles immediately to shoot down US raid, the problem is our corrupt politicans will NOT authorize or nod to military. What do you suggest?

 

[huzihaidao12]

Some of our Chinese friends suggest Pakistan should get HQ-9 missiles immediately to shoot down US raid, the problem is our corrupt politicans will NOT authorize or nod to military. What do you suggest?

Patience, friend,but do not let it touch your red line.

 

[Brotherhood]

Some of our Chinese friends suggest Pakistan should get HQ-9 missiles immediately to shoot down US raid, the problem is our corrupt politicans will NOT authorize or nod to military. What do you suggest?

We got our New China through people revolution to get rid of the KMT corrupted regime and perhaps our Pakistani brothers could figure it out... best wishes from

 

[VelocuR]

In this point of summary- PAKISTAN has other option, US and China are competing on Pakistan's attention!....read it

But Andrew Small, a China expert at the U.S.-based German Marshall Fund, says the recent tensions between the United States and Pakistan following the death of Osama bin Laden give the Pakistani leader’s trip to China added significance.

“It is a chance for the Pakistanis to demonstrate to the world, to the United States and to some extent, for the government to demonstrate to its own public that if relations with the United States deteriorate too much, then they have some other diplomatic and economic options,” said Small.


Wang says despite the appearance that China and the United States are competing for Pakistan’s attention, the two large countries have similar concerns there.

“I would like to say that the bottom line is that the United States and China share an interest, share a very important interest, in Pakistan," said Wang. "We both want to have good relations with Pakistan, and also would like to see a stable Pakistan, and a Pakistan which is doing very effectively, in terms of countering terrorist threat.” But Andrew Small, a China expert at the U.S.-based German Marshall Fund, says the recent tensions between the United States and Pakistan following the death of Osama bin Laden give the Pakistani leader’s trip to China added significance.

“It is a chance for the Pakistanis to demonstrate to the world, to the United States and to some extent, for the government to demonstrate to its own public that if relations with the United States deteriorate too much, then they have some other diplomatic and economic options,” said Small.

This interpretation is rejected by Peking University International Studies Associate Professor Dong Wang, who says he thinks that for China, at least, the timing of the visit is purely coincidental.

“I think that is just American interpretation or reading might be that Pakistan wants to use this, to try to take this trip, as a way to show to the American side that Pakistan has some other options," said Wang. "But I just do not think that the Chinese will do the same thing because it is not in the calculation of the Chinese side, because it is more Pakistan’s calculation. But, the Chinese cannot say, “No, you [Pakistani PM] should not go because I do not want Americans to have that impression.”

Link

 

[DesiGuy]

man....Chinese are the best when it comes to business...and for that, hats off to china!

 

[muse]

two-way trade totalled $8.7 billion in 2010, up 27.7 percent on-year.

Not good enough! -- this must be improved in a significant, dramatic manner --- beyond the warmth, the feeling peoples have and wish to have, there must be substance in which everyone wants to participate and that means trade, engagement over a wide swath of the economy. I hope we will see a lot of joint ventures for exports -- the problem of extremism has a economic dimension and we must not leave that unexplored - and beyond the extremism stuff, a huge volume of trade can ensure that we can do things in the world that we may have thought of as too ambitious -- An educated Pakistan, a technologically competent and advancing Pakistan, a Pakistan playing it's role in research and development of entirely new materials, businesses creating products - all of this should be part of the relationship between Pakistan and China.

And one day with India as well.

 

[Siddiqui A]

BEIJING: China will immediately provide 50 JF-17 Thunder aircraft to Pakistan, an official said here on Wednesday.

“We will get these planes in weeks,” he said, adding that a formal agreement to that effect was likely to be signed on Thursday.

The official said Pakistan and China were already jointly producing the JF-17 aircraft, but these 50 planes would be equipped with more sophisticated avionics. He said the war planes to be fully funded by China would help bolster Pakistan’s defence and add to tactical capability of its air force.

APP adds: Ambassador to China Masood Ahmed Khan said China would provide over $400 million to Pakistan, including $100 million in soft credit and a grant of 70 million RMB, for the post-flood reconstruction and development projects.—Staff Reporter

---------- Post added at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 PM ----------

congrats comrads...

 

[VelocuR]

Not good enough! -- this must be improved in a significant, dramatic manner --- beyond the warmth, the feeling peoples have and wish to have, there must be substance in which everyone wants to participate and that means trade, engagement over a wide swath of the economy. I hope we will see a lot of joint ventures for exports -- the problem of extremism has a economic dimension and we must not leave that unexplored - and beyond the extremism stuff, a huge volume of trade can ensure that we can do things in the world that we may have thought of as too ambitious -- An educated Pakistan, a technologically competent and advancing Pakistan, a Pakistan playing it's role in research and development of entirely new materials, businesses creating products - all of this should be part of the relationship between Pakistan and China.

And one day with India as well.

Thank you, sir...I hope you hear China invested 30 billion in Pakistan next five years.

Pakistan, China set $ 15 billion bilateral trade target till 2012

ISLAMABAD, May 8 (APP): Pakistan and China have set a target of bilateral trade for $ 15 billion by 2012 and the private sector will try its utmost to achieve the same. This was stated by Vice President of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Pakistan Chapter Iftikhar Ali Malik while addressing a seminar on Pak-China Economic relation here at Pak-China Friendship Centre on Sunday.

He said that the business community of Pakistan was a great admirer of the visionary leadership and hard work of the people of China, who have turned their country into the second largest economy and the largest exporting nation of the world within one decade.

He said that the present leadership of Pakistan attached great importance to the country’s decades-old time-tested and all-weather friendship with China.

Iftikhar Ali said that the signing of Free Trade Agreement between China and Pakistan and launching strategic 5-year economic plan in 2006 have given momentum to bilateral trade, which increased from $ 3 billion in 2005 to $ 7 billion in 2009-2010.

" During the previous visit of Prime Minister of China in December 2011, 36 development projects worth $13.2 billion, relating to industry, water, energy, agriculture, fisheries and communication to boost economic activity in the flood-hit areas of Pakistan were signed," he said.

He said that there was an enormous potential for investment in Pakistan particularly in the fields of finance and banking, power and alternative energy (wind and solar), information technology, engineering goods, textile machinery, agricultural and agro-based industry, food and fruit processing and packaging, livestock and dairy farming.

He said,"the business community of Pakistan is not only active in promoting bilateral economic relation with China but under the umbrella of SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, we have constituted China-South Asia Business Forum in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces with our counterparts CCPIT Yunnan and CCPIT Sichuan".

 

[VelocuR]

Gilani’s China visit hurts ties: US senator

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s visit to China, which he declared Pakistan’s best friend, makes it harder to sell an angry US public on aid to Islamabad, a key US senator said Tuesday.

“Frankly, I’m getting tired of it, and I think Americans are getting tired of it as far as shovelling money in there at people who just flat don’t like us,” said Idaho Republican Senator James Risch.

Continued aid to Pakistan, Risch argued, was “a hard sell to the American people” when cash-strapped Washington sends assistance to Islamabad, only to see “the head of Pakistan go to China and… stand up and say ‘you’re our best friend.’”

His comments came during a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on sour US-Pakistan ties in the wake of the raid in which elite US commandos killed Osama bin Laden in a military academy town near Islamabad.

And they follow Gilani’s arrival in China, where the Pakistani leader declared: “We are proud to have China as our best and most trusted friend, and China will always find Pakistan standing beside it at all times.”

 

[Pukhtoon]

^^^ ThiS is Like Easy Load Koi Karayee Aur Batein KiSi aur se kare

 

[Meengla]

“Frankly, I’m getting tired of it, and I think Americans are getting tired of it as far as shovelling money in there at people who just flat don’t like us,” said Idaho Republican Senator James Risch.

Continued aid to Pakistan, Risch argued, was “a hard sell to the American people” when cash-strapped Washington sends assistance to Islamabad, only to see “the head of Pakistan go to China and… stand up and say ‘you’re our best friend.’”

The video of this can be seen here: U.S. Strategic Interests in Pakistan - C-SPAN Video Library
The entire 2+ hours is worth watching.
It pains me to say that, except Kerry and Lugar, all other Senators look so ill-informed, jingoistic, and predictable.
Anyway, toward the very end, Kerry has promised to make the transcript of that session available for Pakistani reading. I second that. I think we should all carefully examine what is being said there.
General Jones is a great professional and patriot; but he keeps reminding the Senators that 'emotions' are high on both sides right now. Let it chill out. Then, 'within next few weeks' or 'a couple of months' we will know of the 'strategic' relation.
I really think Pakistani leadership--both civilian and khaki--has decided to finally 'eat the grass' rather be humiliated again despite so many sacrifices.
Next 'few weeks' then.