Pakistani President to visit China

By Hou Lei and Song Wei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-17 17:16

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will pay a visit to China from August 21 to August 25, Pakistan's ambassador to China Masood Khan said in Beijing Friday afternoon.

The visit, at the invitation of the Chinese government, is part of regular high-level interaction between the two countries.

During his stay in China, Zardari will visit Hangzhou and Guangzhou, capital cities of Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, marking his fourth visit to China.

In China, Pakistan has the largest trade partnerships in trade and investment with Guangdong and Zhejiang, according to the ambassador.

"Therefore the president will be there to explore the possibilities of further promoting trade and economic cooperation and increasing China's investments," the Pakistani ambassador was quoted as saying.

Besides, the ambassador said President Zardari also wants to involve Chinese research academies, institutions and Chinese academies in the area of agriculture particularly in the areas such as water conservancy, small and medium-sized dams etc.

President Zardari previously visited China in October 2008 and February 2009, and came to China's Hainan province to attend the annual Boao Forum in April 2009. Zardari also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on June 15 this year at the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Last month, Zardari praised China for handling the July 5 Xinjiang riot "with great wisdom", according to an earlier Xinhua News Agency report.