Though China publicly backed the Pakistani stance over its continued tension with the US, Beijing sent a private message to Islamabad to avoid taking “extreme positions” in its relationship with Washington.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s recent trip to the country was focused at talking sense into Pakistani civil and military leaders, according to Khaleej Times. The vital outcome of the visit was China’s remarks that the world must recognise Pakistan’s “huge sacrifices” in the war on terror and back its efforts to safeguard its “sovereignty, territorial integrity and dignity”. The carefully crafted statement was aimed straight at the US, which has begun questioning Pakistan’s stance in the fight against terrorism. But away from the public diplomacy, the Chinese foreign minister conveyed “a word of wisdom” to Pakistani leadership on how to deal with the US. Beijing wants an end to the lingering stalemate between Pakistan and the US.
“China wants Pakistan to have a balanced approach in its dealings with the US,” said a top Pakistani official familiar with the high-level discussions. The official, however, did not elaborate if the “balanced approach” meant Islamabad should stop asking for an unconditional apology for the Salala strike. China has serious differences with the US on many issues, but the two countries also had many areas of convergence, the official said. “And that’s what they expect from us … to build our relationship where we have points of convergence with Americans,” the official said. He said Beijing had encouraged Islamabad to sort out its differences with the US, including the stalled supplies to foreign forces in Afghanistan.
Talk what you can walk, China tells Pakistan
