China, Pak To Enter Nuclear Co-Operation Deal

China and Pakistan are close to finalising a landmark accord on nuclear energy cooperation, under which Islamabad will acquire six reactors of 300 megawatts each.

The accord, which shows Pakistan playing its "China card" to beat the India-US nuclear energy deal now undergoing legislative processes in the US, may be signed during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Pakistan this November, according to reports.

"Negotiations on nuclear energy cooperation between Pakistan and China are in final stages and the deal is most likely to be reached during the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao in November this year," said the official on Friday.

He disclosed that Pakistan also wanted to acquire a nuclear power reactor of 600 megawatts from China, but the Chinese have just started using its first such reactors; hence its provision to Pakistan would take some time.

Pakistan has been lobbying for a nuclear deal with the US ever since the US offered one to India.

After the US rejections, President Pervez Musharraf tied up with China when he was there to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

"The nuclear energy cooperation deal with China has brought great solace to Pakistan, as the US is unwilling to extend such cooperation to Islamabad despite the months' long talks between the allied nations in war on terror," the reports said.

With Chinese cooperation, Pakistan would build six new nuclear reactors in next 10 years having capacity of 2,000 megawatts, the official said.

This was part of Pakistan's plan to increase the capacity of nuclear power generation to over 8,000 megawatts by 2025, he added.

China has already helped Pakistan build a nuclear reactor of 350 megawatts at Chashma and it was currently building one more at the same place with the same capacity.