Islamabad:
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Pakistan on Friday for a rare visit expected to focus heavily on expanding trade between the longtime allies.
Islamabad has been grappling with an Islamist insurgency as well as political and economic turmoil in recent years, and Wen's trip - the first by a Chinese premier in five years - is an opportunity to showcase its ties with an ally it sees as offering consistent, unconditional support.
Wen's plane landed under heavy security at a Pakistan air base, and received a red carpet welcome complete with honour guard and a military jet flyover.
Pakistan's top civilian and military leaders, and nearly its full Cabinet, were on hand to greet Wen and his hundreds-strong delegation.
Wen, who is visiting Islamabad after a three-day stop in Pakistan archrival India, was greeted by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and is expected to sign business deals worth (b) billions of dollars during his stay.
As much as Wen's visit will be about investment and bilateral trade, it will also be used to reaffirm the countries' so-called "all-weather" friendship that has endured and even flourished, despite Pakistan's troubles and Beijing's improved ties with its rival New Delhi.
China is Pakistan's closest friend in the region, giving Islamabad military aid and technical assistance, including nuclear technology.
Crucially, Beijing is perceived by many here as not distinguishing between Pakistan and India, and - unlike Washington - doesn't demand anything in return for assistance.
While China doesn't make the conditional demands the US does in its relationship with Islamabad, Beijing is not left empty-handed from its ties with Pakistan.
The country serves as China's gateway to the Muslim world, and is a close and cheap source of natural resources to fuel its growing economy.
In Rawalpindi one shopkeeper said his business relied on cheap imports from China.
"If we were to bring in anything other than Chinese merchandise, people here couldn't afford to buy it," said Mohammad Aamir, from his busy market shop.
Pakistan is desperate for foreign investment to help create jobs for its 175 (m) million people, and Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said a push for greater business links will be a big part of Wen's visit.
"Lately we have been trying to expand the scope of this relationship because our economic and trade relations do not really depict or portray the strength of our political relationship," he said. "Our bilateral trade is close to 7 (b) billion US dollars, which is nothing."
While that number is up from 1 (b) billion US dollars in 2000, much of the new trade consists of cheap Chinese imports into Pakistan. Islamabad will be looking for ways to balance that.
Pakistan believes China can help with a pressing need: providing electricity for its growing cities.
Islamabad has agreed in principle to a controversial deal to purchase two nuclear reactors from China, and the two countries are working out the financial details.
Beijing sees Pakistan as a future energy corridor due to its proximity to natural gas-rich Central Asian states, as well as a link to the Arabian Sea.
As with any discussions involving Pakistan, security issues will also be on the agenda.
The threat posed by Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in Pakistan is a growing concern for China given that the countries share a common border and China is dealing with its own Muslim separatist movement that is simmering in its western Xinjiang region.
One of the most visible symbols of China and Pakistan's military cooperation is the JF-17 Thunder aircraft, a joint venture between the two countries.
The first squadron of JF-17 Thunders, a multi-role combat aircraft, entered service with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in February this year.
The aircraft is now being marketed to other emerging nations like Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe as an alternative to technologically advanced, but much more expensive, western military jets.
Each JF-17 Thunder is reported to cost 18 (m) million US dollars.
Wen's visit to Islamabad follows a three-day stop in India, where New Delhi and Beijing agreed to boost trade between the two countries from 60 (b) billion US dollars a year to 100 (b) billion US dollars by 2015.
They also discussed India's tense relations with Pakistan.