File photo of China's submarine

China is to build four submarines in Pakistan port city Karachi, fulfilling a new defense deal between the two countries, Pakistan local media reported on Wednesday.

The new defense deal includes eight submarines, which are going to be put into production at the same time in China and Pakistan. This makes the arms deal the biggest ever to China.

Announcing the deal, Pakistani Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the deal had been finalized and four submarines would be built in Karachi. "China will transfer the technology to Pakistan for submarine construction," the Minister told Dawn, the Pakistan media.

The minister did not reveal which type of submarines China would transfer to Pakistan. Neither did he announce the exact date of the submarines being put into production.

Pakistan had earlier explored the options of buying submarines from France and Germany, but the deals did not materialize.