Saibal Dasgupta/TNN

Beijing, Oct 18: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has failed to obtain a clear commitment from Chinese leaders on his proposal for broadening the nuclear relationship between the two countries, informed sources said.

Zardari is believed to have spent the past two days during his first presidential visit to Beijing persuading Chinese leaders to sign a Sino-Pakistan nuclear deal on the lines of the India-US deal, among other things.

But Beijing has indicated it will seriously consider Zardari's request after examining the changing situation concerning India-US nuclear relationship and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Zardari is believed to have told Chinese leaders that a Sino-Pakistan deal on nuclear energy would help Beijing counter the effects of the India-US deal. But Chinese leaders are reluctant to go ahead with the idea as they regard Pakistan to be politically unstable, sources said.

At the same time, Chinese president Hu Jintao left no one in doubt that China values its four-decade long friendship with Pakistan by receiving Zardari with a 21-gun military salute at the Tiananmen Square, festooned with the national flags of the two countries. "Your entire family are old friends of the Chinese people. We will never forget the outstanding contribution Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had made to boosting ties with China," he told Zardari.

China has agreed to launch a telecommunication satellite, dubbed PakSat-1R, for Pakistan in 2011. The state-run Great Wall Industry Corporation has said that a Long March 3B rocket will be used to put the satellite into orbit.

Plans involve launching the satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province. The satellite with a life span of 15 years will be used by Pakistan for domestic telecommunication and broadcast services.

China, which earlier delivered two satellites were sent to Nigeria last year, has recently agreed to launch a satellite for Venezuela.

China is also believed to be blocking US efforts to impose greater sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. Beijing is unhappy over recent US decisions to export arms to Taiwan, which it regards as part of Chinese territory.

An important factor shaping China's policies concerning India. Pakistan, Iran and Venezuela is its desire to put the US at a disadvantage in the international political scene. This is what explains its desire to give Iran a helping hand and back Venezuela, which is seriously opposed to US policies, sources said.