China providing Pakistan 50 fighter jets

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BEIJING, May 20 (agencies): China has agreed to provide Pakistan with 50 additional fighter jets in a deal clinched during Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's trip to Beijing, a Pakistani air force official said Friday. Gilani was wrapping up four-day visit that highlighted Pakistan's warm ties with China at a time of heightened tensions with Washington over the killing of Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town by American special forces. Pakistan is seen as eager to show a demanding Washington that it has a strong diplomatic alternative in uncritical ally China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Pakistani air force official confirmed the deal to provide the JF-17 Thunder jets, a single-engine multirole fighter developed in cooperation between China and Pakistan. He offered no details on cost or other terms of the agreement. Known as the FC-1 Xiaolong in China, defense experts say the planes are being offered for export at the relatively low price of about $15 million, making it a cost-efficient replacement for aging workhorses such as the MiG-21 and Northrop F-5 Tiger. Meanwhile: Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday saluted Pakistan's prime minister as an "old friend" of Beijing, extending more warm words to Islamabad as it tackles a crisis with the US over Osama bin Laden's killing. Yousuf Raza Gilani has spent much of his visit to China lauding Pakistan's "all-weather friendship" with Beijing, as pressure mounts over the raid that led to bin Laden's death and US lawmakers demand a review of aid to Islamabad.