Home Business Politics Life Culture��Edu Sci��Tech Sports Photos
��Search
China Observer
�� Shanghai single ladies crazy about Valentine's Day
�� Spring Festival's revival mirrors China's rising soft power
Photos
�� Clay sculpture contest held in primary school
�� Peruvian navy visit HK missile escort
�� Rural pupils exempted from tuition fee
��Home>>Politics
Pakistan mulls building trade, energy corridor for China
www.chinanews.cn 2006-02-22 09:54:11
(Source: China Daily)
Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan(L) and Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf (R), accompanied by his wife, cut a cake during a reception
marking the 55th anniversary of the establishment of China-Pakistan
diplomatic relations at Diaoyutai Guesthouse Feb. 21. (Xinhua)
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf in Beijing February 21, 2006. [Reuters]
Feb.22 - Pakistan wants to act as a transit facility giving China access
to Central Asian markets and energy sources, said visiting President
Pervez Musharraf.
"We are interested in setting up a trade and energy corridor for China,"
he told China Daily in an exclusive interview.
He was referring to Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea coast in the Pakistani
province of Balochistan through which crude oil imports from Iran and
Africa can be transported to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region by land.
Musharraf said the route on which a feasibility study is being conducted
is a shortcut compared with the one via the Straits of Malacca.
The port is strategically located as it is quite near the Strait of
Hormuz, through which 40 per cent of the world's oil passes, he noted.
China contributed about US$200 million for the construction of the port's
first phase, which was completed last April when Premier Wen Jiabao
visited Pakistan.
It is reported that China will also finance the second phase, which will
have nine more berths, an approach channel and storage terminals.
Musharraf said he is looking forward to the result of the feasibility
study on transporting crude oil via mountainous regions in Pakistan; and
suggested that building a railway was an option.
"We should look at the issue with strategic vision," he said.
Although the proposed pipeline is not a project that can be launched
soon, it could work well in the long run, said Sun Shihai, a researcher
with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"It will help maintain peace and stability in the region when the
commercial interests of China, Pakistan and a third country are
involved," he said.
Musharraf, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a five-day visit, is also
seeking Chinese help in developing nuclear energy.
China helped its traditional friend set up the Chashma Nuclear Power
Plant Phase I; and building on the 300-megawatt Phase II started recently.
Pakistan, whose nuclear-power capacity is 437 megawatts, plans to
increase the figure to 8,500 megawatts by 2030.
On bilateral relations, Musharraf said his latest visit to China has
brought him closer to the Chinese leadership.
Talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao were extended by half an
hour on Monday, following which 13 bilateral agreements were signed on
military, trade and agricultural co-operation.
Apart from Hu, Musharraf also held talks with top legislator Wu Bangguo
and Premier Wen Jiabao.
During his tour to Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Musharraf will
visit some national defence industries apart from seeing giant pandas.
The two countries are jointly building JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.
On the launch of his Chinese-language biography in Beijing on Monday,
Musharraf said he felt "greatly honoured and flattered to have a Chinese
author write about my life."
Copyright� 2004 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Disclaimer: viewpoints in the website do not represent China News Service
Learn Chinese, Learn Mandarin online, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
