China extends red carpet to Zardari, nuke deal likely

Beijing, Oct 15 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao here on Wednesday as he looked towards inking a series of agreements, including on civilian nuclear cooperation and securing a financial aid package.

During the visit, Beijing and Islamabad are expected to sign a possible deal on civil nuclear power cooperation.

Islamabad has been striving hard to strike a comprehensive nuclear pact with Beijing after the Bush administration ruled out any such cooperation with Pakistan on the lines of the nuclear deal with India.

Pakistan already has one China-supplied reactor in operation in its Punjab province and another is under construction.

It is looking to Beijing to help it build the bulk of more than 8,000 megawatts of planned nuclear electricity generating capacity.

China is also expected to provide a liberal aid package to Pakistan, which is desperately seeking assistance from Western capitals to overcome a severe financial crunch, brought on by higher oil and food prices.

ANI