Chinese president concludes visit to Pakistan

Chinese President Hu Jintao left Lahore Sunday for home, concluding his four-day state visit to Pakistan.

During his stay in Pakistan, Hu held talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and they agreed to continue to enrich the contents of bilateral strategic and cooperative partnership by expanding practical and reciprocal cooperation in various fields.

Hu made a five-point proposal for the further growth of bilateral relations, and the two sides signed a number of bilateral cooperative documents including an agreement on free trade, and issued a joint statement.

He also met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Senate Speaker Ellahi Bakhsh Soomro and National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, and delivered a speech to the Pakistani people on furthering bilateral relations.

Hu started the state visit on Thursday at the invitation of Musharraf and arrived in Lahore from Islamabad on Saturday.

The China-Pakistan trade volume exceeded 4 billion U.S. dollars last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 39 percent.

Pakistan is the last leg of Hu's four-nation tour, which has already taken him to Vietnam, Laos and India.

He also attended the 14th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation from Nov. 17 to 19 in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

Source: Xinhua