ISLAMABAD — Chinese President Xi Jinping will launch energy and infrastructure projects worth $46 billion on a visit to Pakistan next week as China cements links with its old ally and generates opportunities for firms hit by slack growth at home. Also being finalized is a long-discussed plan to sell Pakistan eight Chinese submarines. The deal, worth between $4 billion and $5 billion, according to media reports, may be among those signed on the trip. Xi will visit next Monday and Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said. Commercial and defense ties are drawing together the two countries, which share a remote border and long-standing mistrust of their increasingly powerful neighbor, India, and many Western nations. — Reuters
