Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari may sign a preliminary civilian nuclear pact with China during his state visit to the country, Pakistan's ambassador to China said on Tuesday.

Masood Khan, speaking to Pakistan's Geo TV in Beijing as Zardari arrived for his first state visit abroad, hinted that a nuclear deal could be on the cards during four days of talks.

"Both countries have always supported the peaceful use of civil nuclear energy," Khan said, according to the station's website, adding that an agreement was "expected in this connection".

India, Pakistan's arch-rival, signed a major pact with the US last week opening up sales of civilian nuclear technology to India for the first time in three decades.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has demanded a similar agreement with the United States.

Pakistan, which has one Chinese-built nuclear power station and another under construction, suffers severe electricity shortages with increasing numbers of black-outs in Islamabad and Karachi.

The government has an "energy security plan" envisaging an increase in nuclear power generation from the current 425 megawatts to 8800 megawatts by 2030 to meet its growing energy demands.

Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme has been under the spotlight since a 2004 confession by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of its nuclear programme, that he sold atomic secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Khan was pardoned by then president Pervez Musharraf in 2004 but has been kept at his Islamabad villa ever since, guarded by troops and intelligence agents.

Pakistan has rejected international demands for access to Khan.

AFP