Islamabad: Analysts view the visit of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to China this week as an attempt by the Pakistani leadership to look beyond the United States in its international relations.

Leading the Pakistani delegation Musharraf is scheduled to attend Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) meeting on June 15. Pakistan, India, Iran, and Mongolia, has observer status at the SCO, a group that brings together China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Besides discussing a range of bilateral issues, during the visit, Musharraf is likely to push for Chinese investment and other assistance in the building of two more nuclear power plants of 300 megawatts each, The News reported.

Musharraf has been keen on concluding a deal with China on the lines of Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, ever since it became clear that that US would not extend same kind of offer to Islamabad.

Beijing and Islamabad signed a "framework agreement" on energy cooperation during Musharraf's visit to Beijing in February.

With the help of China, Pakistan has built Chashma-I and Chashma-II, each with a capacity for generating 300 megawatts of nuclear power and both based on a Chinese prototype. Chashma-I has been in operation since 2000 and construction of the second, which began recently, is expected to take five or six years.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had said during the 55th celebrations of Pakistan-China relations last month that the two countries were working at enhancing cooperation in the field of "nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under international safeguards ¡ª for the production of electricity"

Pakistan is also seeking Chinese assistance in developing its oil and gas sector by pushing the idea of oil and gas pipelines from Gwadar in Balochistan to western China.

On the sidelines of the SCO, Musharraf is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai invited as a special guest to the SCO meeting would give an opportunity to Musharraf to meet him. Musharraf was unable to meet the Afghan leader earlier this year during his visit to Pakistan.