September 22, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 21, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: President Asif Ali Zardari will hold strategic talks with Chinese leaders during his visit to Beijing next month.

Official sources told Dawn that dates of the visit were yet to be worked out but it would take place in mid-October.

During the visit, Mr Zardari is likely to negotiate a nuclear deal similar to the one signed by India and the US and discuss ways of boosting bilateral trade and investment.

They said the president would also discuss ways of enhancing cooperation in joint ventures, hi-tech industry, telecom and mining industry.

The visit is seen by observers as significant in the context of stepped-up US raids inside Pakistan. They say that under the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighbourly Relations signed by the two countries in 2005, China promised to help Pakistan defend its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

Pakistan-China defence cooperation has always been important component of their relations. The tradition of high-level exchange of visits for consultations between the armed forces of the two countries has sustained the relations. In recent years, a mechanism of defence and security consultations has been institutionalised.