Pakistan ? Chinese President Hu Jintao, visiting his country’s staunchest ally in Asia, signed a free-trade deal Friday and pledged to continue helping Pakistan build its civilian nuclear program.

But the Chinese leader stopped short of announcing the wide-ranging nuclear cooperation deal that many observers had expected him to unveil as a counterweight to a similar accord being hammered out between the United States and India, Pakistan’s archrival.

Beijing already has supplied Islamabad with one nuclear reactor and is helping build a second one at Chashma, in Punjab province. Pakistan’s energy needs are growing in step with its expanding economy, and the country increasingly is looking to nuclear sources to meet rising demand.

Hu arrived in the Pakistani capital Thursday as part of a weeklong tour of South Asia that began with a visit to India.