China offers goodies to Pakistan, urges world powers not to abandon it

BEIJING: China has showered goodies on Pakistan as its top diplomat Dai Bingguo is visiting Islamabad. It has offered Pakistani companies tax free status if they operate in the border province of Xinjiang while ICBC, the Chinese bank, is working on ways to finance the Iran-Pakistan oil pipeline project.

In Islamabad, Dai appealed to world powers to support Pakistan and not desert it at this time. Pakistan has considerable influence on Afghanistan, which must be taken into consideration by those trying to resolve the crisis in Kabul, he suggested after meeting Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari and prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The taxation move suggests China is serious about building a rail line connecting Pakistan and is preparing the economic infrastructure to support it. The new rule unveiled on Saturday offers a 5-year tax exemption to companies operating in Kashgar, which borders Pakistan and Horgos on the Chinese border with Kazakhstan.

Beijing had earlier announced to build a logistics centre in Kashgar, which saw bloody ethnic riots earlier this year, to revive the local economy and divert attention of the minority Muslim community from separatist leaders fighting to build an independent East Turkmenistan nation.

Pakistan recently announced that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest of Chinese banks, has been appointed as the main financier in a consortium that will finance the $1.2 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Beijing's hand is clearly visible in the decision because the project is based on the assumption of a politically stable Pakistan, which is not the case at present.

China, which has already invested $200 million to build the Gadwar port in Pakistan and helped the country build two nuclear power projects, is betting on the ability of the Zardari government to ensure stability by mending fences with the country's military leadership.