Partly in response to warming US-India relations, Pakistan has chosen to look east to China, where it wants to deepen an alliance. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Beijing earlier this month underscored Islamabad’s China-centric foreign policy and his grand ceremonial reception was certainly noteworthy.
The kind of welcome rarely extended to foreign dignitaries, it evidenced China’s regard for Pakistan as an ally. Meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and Chairman Zhao Leji further reinforced the visit’s significance. All this was designed to send a message: Pakistan has chosen its partner.
At the heart of this burgeoning partnership is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the backbone of bilateral relations. The corridor starts from Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang and reaches Karachi and the deepwater Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea in Pakistan’s south via the Khunjerab Pass.
The port, which has been developed over recent years at a cost of around $2bn, is considered the key link between China’s giant Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its Maritime Silk Road (MSR) projects. The MSR is the sea route part of the BRI, which is Beijing’s global infrastructure investment strategy.
At its heart, the CPEC will let China keep getting its vital energy imports from the Middle East. Without the corridor, those imports would be at the mercy of a foreign military power (such as the United States) using its navy to blockade the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Developing the corridor
Both nations want to fast-track CPEC projects, ensuring that Gwadar Port continues to grow. Zardari’s visit focused on an advanced iteration of CPEC, further integrating Pakistan into China’s BRI. New agreements were inked. These expand infrastructure and industrial cooperation and develop special economic zones (SEZs).
A major highlight was China’s pledge to upgrade the Main Line-1 railway and expedite the realignment of the Karakoram Highway—projects that will bolster connectivity and solidify Pakistan’s role in China’s grand economic strategy.
In the background is Washington’s intensifying military and strategic ties with New Delhi, so Pakistan has reciprocated by reinforcing its security collaboration with China. They reaffirmed their defence partnership and committed to joint military exercises, technology transfers, and intelligence-sharing mechanisms.
Yet all is not entirely rosy. Reports suggest that Chinese nationals in Pakistan are being increasingly attacked, and this was raised. Zardari gave reassurances over Islamabad's counterterrorism efforts, pledging heightened security to safeguard Chinese personnel and investments.
