Chinese President To Visit Pakistan Next Week

Chinese President Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Pakistan next week.

Xi, accompanied by a large business delegation, will be in Pakistan on April 20-21 for a visit postponed last year amid antigovernment demonstrations in Islamabad.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the visit will "further consolidate the existing 'all-weather relations' between Pakistan and China, in all areas of importance, especially political, economic and strategic."

An unidentified Pakistani Finance Ministry official was quoted as saying the sides would sign $46 billion worth of agreements focusing on infrastructure and the energy sector.

The official said they are expected to sign an agreement on the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, a network of roads and railways linking western China to the Pakistani port of Gwadar.

Pakistan has for decades been China's closest ally in South Asia, and Beijing is a major trading partner and key supplier of military technology to Islamabad.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa