CHINA WANTS TO BUY 5,000 TONNES PAKISTANI COTTON China is negotiating with Pakistan to buy 5,000 tonnes of cotton this year, after importing the same amount last year under a barter agreement, Chinese consulate sources said. Chinese ambassador Tian Ding told a meeting of Pakistani industrialists on Thursday that China intended to increase imports from Pakistan to reduce a trade imbalance. Pakistani officials estimate the country's cotton output from the current crop at a record 7.6 mln bales (375 pounds each). Last year's output totalled 7.2 mln bales and domestic consumption was just below three mln bales, they said.