Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday embarked on a five-day official visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese leadership amidst tensions in Pakistan’s relations with the United States.
“The army chief will call on the political and military leadership of China during the visit,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. General Kayani’s interactions will encompass the complete range of Pakistan-China relations related to security and defence, the statement said.
An official seeking anonymity said the visit of General Kayani was very important as it was taking place at a time when there was stalemate in relations between Islamabad and Washington.
“At present, Pakistan and US are trying to iron out their differences and normalise the ties, which got strained after NATO air strikes on Pakistani border posts. General Kayani will also brief the Chinese leadership and take them into confidence over these Pak-US efforts, as China is our close friend and important world power,” he said.
Earlier, China had assured to stand by Pakistan through all difficult times as it advised the Pakistani leadership to defuse the tense situation and try to find an amicable solution to the stalemate in ties with the United States. He said apart from Pakistan-US standoff, General Kayani would also discuss with Chinese leaders ways to enhance bilateral defence ties.
In recent years, China has provided Pakistan frigates, combat jets and other military equipment at subsidised prices or against soft loans and according to the official, the visit of army chief would further enhance the relations between the two friendly states in the field of security and defence.
General Kayani is visiting China after last month’s trip to Islamabad by top Chinese diplomat Dai Bingguo.
“The Chinese official also discussed the standoff between Pakistan and the US in his talks with Pakistani leaders during his stay in Islamabad,” the official said.
