China, Pak set to ink many pacts

China on Wednesday signalled its plan to sign "unprecedented agreements" with Pakistan during President Hu Jintao's upcoming visit, but kept mum on the possibility of a deal to supply up to six nuclear reactors to Islamabad.

"During President Hu's four-day state visit to Pakistan, China is expected to sign unprecedented agreements with the South Asian country," the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

However, the report did not say whether China would sign an Indo-US-style civilian nuclear agreement with Pakistan for the supply of six nuclear reactors.

China and Pakistan will ink a five-year development programme for bilateral economic and trade cooperation during Hu's visit which will be the first-ever agreement for China to sign with another country, the report said.

Hu and his Pakistani counterpart, Pervez Musharraf, will attend the inauguration ceremony of the Haier-Ruba economic zone in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, the first of the eight economic zones to be established outside China and mainly managed by Chinese companies.

"The above-mentioned achievements are major breakthroughs by both China and Pakistan in seeking new modes and approaches in their economic and trade cooperation," the report quoted unnamed sources as saying on the eve of Hu's visit to Islamabad, the first by a Chinese president in a decade.

Chinese government has already announced that it will sign other agreements with Pakistan in areas such as trade, culture and education during Hu's visit.