China concerned over rising US ‘influence’ in Pakistan

October 13th, 2009 BEIJING - China and Pakistan Tuesday pledged to boost cooperation in trade and defence sectors, the Online news agency reported Tuesday. Visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held discussion with Chinese President Hu Jintao in this regard, the report said.

October 13th, 2009 BEIJING - China has reportedly offered high-tech counter-terrorism system to Pakistan to boost its defence sector and to help its efforts to fight terrorism. According to reports, four delegations from different Chinese companies have met Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani to decide upon the matter, while the China Development Bank and other Chinese institutions will provide funds in this connection.

October 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has said that it has no objection over the planned expansion of the US embassy in Islamabad. Briefing a Sub-Committee of National Assembly's Standing Committee on Human Rights, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said Islamabad is not concerned about the expansion.

October 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan issued a commemorative postage stamp Thursday to mark the 60th anniversary of Communist China, and Beijing's envoy described Sino-Pakistani relations as "higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the Arabian sea and sweeter than honey". Federal Minister for Postal Services Nawabzada Mir Israr Ullah Khan Zehri and China's ambassador Luo Zhaohui unveiled the stamp issued by the Pakistan Post at its headquarters here.

September 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and China Friday signed an agreement to build a communication satellite in the next three years, officials said. China will provide $200 million to Pakistan to build the PAKSAT-1R satellite.

September 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday said his country wants to further bolster the existing strong bilateral ties with China and to enhance the strategic economic cooperation between the two countries. Pakistan "attaches high value to its relations with china and takes pride in the success story of China", Zardari said while speaking to Chinese ambassador in Pakistan Luo Zhaohui who visited the president here Saturday, Online news agency reported.

September 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - China has said that Pakistan saved Beijing from embarrassment by persuading certain Islamic countries not to take the issue of ethnic violence in Xinjiang before the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. Replying to a question while interacting with media persons at the Chinese embassy here, Chinese Ambassador Lou Zhaohui said: "Yes, Pakistan played its role in doing so." Zhaohui said Islamabad has been very helpful in assisting China counter the Xinjiang violence and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

June 26th, 2009 BEIJING - In a step further to embolden their military relationship, Chinese Defence Minister, Liang Guanglie met Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, here on Friday. Guanglie met Air Chief Marshal Suleman, who is currently on a visit to China, and vowed to further strengthen friendship between both countries.

June 3rd, 2009 LAHORE - Concerned by the increasing activities of the militant organization, East Turkistan Islamic Movement, China has asked Pakistan to root out extremism from its soil. Chinese President Hu Jintao has asked his Pakistan counterpart Asif Ali Zardari to utilize all its resources to curb the menace, the BBC reports.

May 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US administration has urged China to provide training and military equipment to help Pakistan counter a growing threat of terrorism in the country, a media report said. The proposal is part of a broad US push to enlist key allies of Pakistan in an effort to stabilise the country, the Boston Globe said Monday.

May 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has appealed to China to provide training and even military equipment to help Pakistan counter a growing militant threat, U.S. officials said.

May 6th, 2009 LAHORE - Eighty-seven percent of American voters are still concerned about the security of nuclear weapons in Pakistan, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. According to the Daily Times, 60 percent of the respondents said they are 'very concerned', while only 10 percent of those asked said they were not worried.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Worried and highly concerned by the Taliban's invasion into new territories inside Pakistan, the United States has warned Islamabad that its failure to take stern action against the expanding writ of the insurgents may endanger the relationship between both the countries, as well as the US strategies in Afghanistan. According to a report in the Washington Post, US President Barack Obama is very concerned over the issue.

April 20th, 2009 LAHORE - While Pakistan, in its effort to convince the international community, has repeatedly said that it is sincere in thwarting the rising Taliban influence in the region, the United States believes that Islamabad does not have either the will, nor the capacity to pose a challenge for the extremists. Terming Pakistan as a 'big problem', US Senator Ted Kaufman has said that the country lacks both ability and capacity to counter the insurgents from expanding their writ inside its territory.

December 28th, 2008 ISLAMABAD - Iran has taken the lead in cooling Pakistan-India tensions in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, with President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad heading for New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders, a media report said Monday. 'Iran is turning out to be the first country of the region that has decided to play a mediatory role at the head of the state level between Pakistan and India,' The News said.