Chinese president Xi Jinping arrives in Islamabad

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Islamabad on Monday for his first state visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Xi's trip is expected to focus on strengthening bilateral ties and advancing the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a planned network of roads, railways and energy projects linking Pakistan's deepwater Gwadar Port with China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The two sides are scheduled to hammer out a package of deals in such fields as energy, infrastructure, trade and economic cooperation.

The Chinese President is expected to announce $46 billion of investment according to reports.

The focus of the spending is on building a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), running from Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan province to China's western Xinjiang region.

Deals worth some $28 billion are ready to be signed during the visit, with the rest to follow. The sum significantly outweighs American investment in Pakistan.

President Xi will also attend the Asian-African Summit and activities commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in Indonesia from Tuesday to Friday, at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.