The importance of bilateral ties
The close friendship between China and Pakistan is firmly rooted in the convergence of the two countries’ strategic interests. The relationship has both deepened and widened with the passage of time. Pakistan has long considered China a powerful neighbor that it can rely upon in case of any act of aggression or arm twisting by India. For China that had been subjected to isolation during the Cold War, Pakistan became a window to the Western world. While Islamabad supported Beijing on the issue of Taiwan, China stood by Pakistan whenever there was a threat to its integrity. Currently both countries are partners in the building of CPEC, the flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that aims to connect Asia with the Western markets along the old Silk Route.
The press release by Foreign Office issued at the end of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s three-day-long strategic dialogue in China gives the largest space to CPEC which underlines the importance of the issue. It is reassuring that the confusion created over the project by some of the PTI bigwigs is over now. The matter had perturbed the Chinese government. Hopefully the PTI administration and its several spokesmen will henceforth show more sensitivity to the treaties brokered with friendly countries.
Both sides have reaffirmed support for one another on “all core issues of national interest”, highlighting the importance of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. China has thus once again assured Pakistan that it would stand by it in case of any foreign aggression. This would hopefully discourage any possible misadventure during the coming Indian election.
China however is keen to normalize relations between India and Pakistan to have a peaceful South Asia. This explains why it put on hold the UN Security Council resolution to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist. Beijing had argued that it had done so to have sufficient time to create a tripartite consensus between Pakistan, India and China over the issue. Presumably another attempt would be made by Beijing to mediate between India and Pakistan.
