China, Pakistan ink 20 pacts, boost ties
BEIJING: "Iron friends" China and Pakistan today inked 20 agreements amounting to Chinese investment reportedly worth about USD 46 billion, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held wide-ranging talks with the leadership here.
Sharif, who is here to take part in the neighborhood leaders conference being organised by China on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting, held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
Terming China and Pakistan as "iron friends", Xi, who cancelled his to visit to Islamabad during his South Asia tour in September due to tense confrontation between the government and the opposition parties in Islamabad, told Sharif that the two countries will continue to support each other and strengthen cooperation.
"Iron friends" is a term frequently used in China to mean trustworthy friends whose friendship is as solid as iron.
Some Chinese netizens have coined the phrase of "Iron Paks" to refer to Pakistanis, Xi was quoted as telling Sharif.
Besides issues related to China's concerns over terrorist attacks in Xinjiang with militants infiltration from across the border in Pakistan, the two leaders discussed the emerging situation in Afghanistan in view of the US plans to pullout its troops from the war-torn country, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
China looks to play a bigger role in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the US troops withdrawal.
Sharif said Pakistan will strengthen cooperation with China in building infrastructure and crackdown on terrorist forces such as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is blamed for terrorist attacks in Xinjiang bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK).
China has been pressing Pakistan to crackdown on ETIM militants.
During Sharif's meeting with Li, the two sides signed 20 agreements, the report said.
The agreements signed during Sharif's visit according to Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal are worth about USD 46 billion.
Of this USD 35 billion worth of agreements are related to energy development projects to boost power in Pakistan and the rest to develop the infrastructure projects, he told Radio Pakistan.
"I am going to China to save my people from one more load-shedding-ridden summer," Sharif said ahead of his departure to China.