20000116

Musharraf leaves for China tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf leaves for China on Monday for a two-day visit that Islamabad says will refresh relations between the two traditional allies.

The trip will be Musharraf's first outside the Islamic world since he seized power on October 12 last year and comes amid fresh Pakistani tensions with another big neighbour, arch-rival India.

"The visit is intended to reaffirm Pakistan's close and cordial ties with China," a Foreign Ministry statement said on Saturday.

It said Musharraf would hold an "in-depth exchange of views" with Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji besides meeting President Jiang Zemin and parliamentary speaker and former premier Li Peng, who is number two in the Chinese political hierarchy.

"The emphasis of his discussion will be on further strengthening the bilateral relations and expansion of economic and trade relations," the statement said.

Musharraf will be accompanied by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Commerce and Industry Minister Abdul Razak Dawood. But there was no information on whether the two sides would sign any new economic or trade promotion agreements.-Reuters