President Asif Zardari's recent visit to China indicates that Islamabad is looking forward to bolstering ties with Beijing in a big way. The president's decision to visit Beijing once in every three months and the agreements for setting up of two nuclear energy plants, launch of a satellite and heavy investments by Chinese corporations in several other projects are some of the signs. China also vowed to help Pakistan avert financial disaster. Chinese government has offered to invest $5 billion in Pakistan's defense, banking and other financial sectors. Now political observers in Pakistan think that after the collapse of US economy, Pakistan needs to take a ‘U turn' in its relations with the US and boost relations with its neighboring countries like China, Russia and Iran. After 60 years of independence, despite threats from Russia and India, Pakistan joined pro-US bloc to safeguard the US interest in the region. Pakistan fought the US proxy war against Russia but received destruction in return. Unfortunately, Pakistan's neighboring countries like China, Russia and Iran do not enjoy good relations with the US. America has severely criticized China's abuse of human rights. US also backed Georgia in its recent conflict with Russia. If Pakistan wants better relations and financial assistance from its neighbors, it should review its foreign policies. Khawaja Umer Farooq Jeddah __
