Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's frequent visits to China aim to sustain the two countries' "time-tested" relationship by identifying new areas of cooperation, said Pakistan's ambassador to China.

In his third trip to China this year, Zardari will visit Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, and Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, from August 21 to 25. "The president will be there to explore opportunities of further promoting trade and economic cooperation and increasing China's investment in Pakistan from these provinces," Pakistan's Ambassador Masood Khan said at a press conference in Beijing on August 14.

Guangdong and Zhejiang are, respectively, the first and second largest trade partners of Pakistan among all Chinese provinces, according to the ambassador.

Through the visit, Zardari wants to involve Chinese research institutions and corporations in agriculture, particularly in water conservancy, the construction of small and medium-sized dams and high efficiency irrigation, Khan said.

The two sides will sign new memorandums of understanding on fresh water fishery and sugar cane production during Zardari's visit. They will also hold business forums to attract Chinese investment to Pakistan.

Two-way trade between Beijing and Islamabad reached $6.981 billion in 2008, with Chinese exports totaling $5.975 billion and imports standing at 1.006 billion, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

Benefiting from Xinjiang

Khan, who recently paid a visit to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said he was pleased to see the economic development in China's western region, including Xinjiang.

"We applaud the policies of the Chinese Government and people to develop the Xinjiang autonomous region," he said, "because Pakistan benefits directly from the development of China's western region."

Xinjiang shares common borders with Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. In April, the two regions signed a cooperative agreement to build partnerships in oil and gas resources, trade, sustainable energy, agriculture, geological survey, water conservation and irrigation technology.

"The Government of Pakistan condemned the violence that erupted on July 5" in Urumqi, he said. "We have supported policies of the Chinese Government to restore peace and order and also to ensure ethnic harmony and ethnic integration."

The July 5 riot, which was instigated by Uygur separatists, caused the deaths of 192 people. Han Chinese, the country's majority ethnic group, were the biggest victims of the killings.