LAHORE - Pakistan and China would be entering a historic phase of bilateral relations when the leaderships of both the countries would meet in Beijing to restructure their mutual bonds that have withstood all the tests of time. The new chapter is being added to further cement existing excellent ties, the focus of which would be to ensure mutual defence against all forms of foreign aggression. This may be remembered that bilateral relations between Islamabad and Beijing have had many peaks but no troughs, and have attained new heights in many areas. To ink solidification of ties, besides several agreements, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would embark on a journey to the Chinese capital on May 17 (Tuesday) to apprise Beijings top leadership of his countrys experience and lessons learnt from Americas deep penetration inside Pakistani territory to kill Osama bin Laden, the secret operation that has made Pakistan vulnerable to such adventures in the future. The military top brass and defence think tanks of both the countries have been in close contact since the incident of May 2 and have been working out a joint defence mechanism. A military delegation would also visit Beijing soon to brainstorm future strategy to deal with a repeat of such an eventuality. A Chinese military delegation has recently concluded a visit to Islamabad. What stitches Pakistan and China together is the fact that they have two common enemies, the United States and India. Beijing grudges Western Europe and America joining hands to prop up New Delhi as a counterweight to China in the region. China is also fully aware that conspiracies are being hatched at the behest of Washington and other European capitals to curtail Beijings fast emergence as a superpower of the world. PM Gilani is understood to be carrying in his briefcase a blueprint for sharing it with his Chinese counterpart how best the two sides together thwart all nefarious designs aimed at harming either Pakistan or China. Prime Minister Gilani would also carry with him a message of goodwill and gratitude for Chinas unflinching support to Pakistan at a very trying moment in the history of Pakistan when it was facing near-isolation at the international level. China was the first country, followed only by Iran, which said the manner in which the CIA carried the OBL kill mission was violation of Pakistans sovereignty and that Islamabads contribution in the international war on terror was second to none. Prime Minister Gilani will be meeting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on May 18 (Wednesday). They would give a final shape to the proposals that the Pakistan leader would table before Premier Jiabao before the same could be presented to Chinese President Hu Jintao whom Premier Gilani would be meeting on May 20 (Friday). The Sino-Pak relationship in 2011 and beyond is bound to get stronger as a result of high-level civil and military exchanges. China and Pakistan armed forces would continue to hold joint exercises, pursue programmes of training and collaborate in joint defence production. It may be recalled that during Premier Wen Jiabaos last visit to Pakistan, the two sides decided to establish an Energy Cooperation Mechanism, open branches of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Pakistan, conclude Currency Swap Arrangements and start Agriculture Demonstration Zones in Pakistan. Diplomatic observers whom The Nation contacted expressed their optimism regarding the outcome of Premier Gilanis upcoming visit to China. Most of them were of the view that announcement of this visit must have sent ripples amongst the policymakers and the military top brass in New Delhi and Washington since they were not anticipating it. These observers further argue that the manner in which the American CIA and Pentagon had let Pakistani counterparts down, they should expect that Islamabad would also explore all its options to ensure no such misadventure is attempted again. In their opinion, the timing of President Asif Ali Zardaris visit to Moscow could not have been better and the issues discussed by him with his Russian counterpart had also sent strong signals to Washington and New Delhi because the discussion in Moscow also had a reference of Russian desire to have access to warm waters. Pakistan and China are all-weather and time-tested friends. Both the countries enjoy geographical contiguity and strong political solidarity. There are natural complementarities between their economies. What is most important is that the hearts of the two people beat together. In the past decade, Sino-Pak economic and cultural relations had also developed rapidly. The bilateral trade currently is about $7 billion, but with the signing of the Free Trade Agreements on goods, services and investment, the trade is likely to grow further. This trend was evident when Pakistans exports to China increased by 25 per cent in 2009; and the growth in two-way trade in the first two quarters of 2010 had been steady.