For the last few weeks the Pak-Sino relations have been very much in focus — from the purchase of nuclear reactors to collaboration on energy exploration and joint production of F-17 fighter jets. Add to this the recent visit of an 80-member delegation of the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce to Pakistan to participate in the Pakistan-China Energy Forum and President Pervez Musharraf’s Beijing visit in the last week of February.
There is increasing admission in Pakistan that growing ties with Beijing will facilitate Pakistan’s key national objective of structurally positioning itself as the connecting hub in trade and energy transportation connecting South and Central Asia and China. As the two countries explore joint ventures in the field of energy there are already major infrastructure projects such as the Gwador seaport, the coastal highway and the upgrading of the Karakorum Highway.
It is also evident that compulsions and contents of Pak-Sino relations have changed with the changing geopolitical situation.
Its dynamism enables it to survive major realignments globally and in Asia specifically. In fact it is a relationship in which a high level of political will has been invested to make it respond to the demands of a changing environment.
More important, it is a relationship born out of security concerns. Faced with abiding hostility from a bigger neighbor that initially questioned the very existence of Pakistan, and the bitter experience with an undependable ally, Islamabad sought security, first, through external military alliances and later, through an indigenously developed nuclear deterrence.
It was the 1962 US-India military deal that resulted in Pakistan’s opening to China in a historic switch over from its earlier policy of total dependence on Washington. For China, friendship with Pakistan helped it break out of international isolation. When PIA flew the first international flight to Shanghai, Prime Minister Chou En-Lai himself was there to receive the flight. The Pak-Sino relationship has survived geostrategic changes including wars, uprisings, invasions, breakup of nations and rapprochements.
While pursuing its national interests, China has encouraged Pakistan to pursue pragmatic policies. For example China has discouraged Pakistan from engaging in ill-advised confrontations with India.
China manages its foreign relations according to the traditional tributary relations. China’s Ming and Qing tributary system was based on three cardinal points. First, China considered itself the “central heart” of the region, with the tributary system assuring its overall security environment.
Second, China needed a stable external environment, immediately surrounding the Middle Kingdom, to maintain its own internal stability and prosperity. Third, the Chinese emperor, at the “heart”, would in principle give more favors to tributary states or kingdoms than receive from them. For his “generosity,” the emperor gets their respect and goodwill.
Meanwhile Pakistan has consistently pursued its foreign policies with security as its major element. Its relations with the US have grown but not at the cost of its ties with China. China itself has relations with the US.
All in all, the friendship with China serves to promote Pakistan’s interest, a stable Asia and specifically South and Central Asia. At the same time there is a very realistic and pragmatic appraisal of expectations from each other. China is a major trading partner with Pakistan accounting for nearly 11 percent of Islamabad’s imports. In 2005 the trade between the two countries stood at $4.25 billion representing a 40 percent increase. However, there are some minor irritants too like the dumping of Chinese goods in Pakistani markets dubbed as “friendly fire.” The solution suggested by Pakistan is setting up joint investments.
Both China and Pakistan have serious reservations about Indo-US nuclear deal. Many in Pakistan believe that the deal should have stipulated a halt on nuclear weapons production in South Asia or linked to actual progress on the Kashmir issue.
Going beyond conventional and nonconventional means of deterrence Pakistan is now seeking security through economic development and trade. Its trade figures with China, Afghanistan and India have all shot up. New entries into SAARC (Afghanistan and China) and the the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO — Pakistan and India), together with the Economic Cooperation Organization point toward an overall realization in the region that economic cooperation and integration is imperative for regional progress. With Pakistan, India, Iran, China and Russia cooperating on provision and security of energy supplies we could have in the region the makings of an unprecedented cooperative environment, which could bring about greater shattering changes, than what we have been witnessing at the end of the 20th century.
It appears that three elements characterize the relationship between a rising global power (China) and a rising regional power (Pakistan). One, the relationship is effectively adapting to the changing regional and global scenarios. Two, improvements in Sino-Indian relations are not adversely impacting on the substance of Sino-Pak ties and three, Pak-Sino ties are being deepened and broadened.
