China-Pakistan relations: a historical analysis

Abstract

The relationship between China and Pakistan has been marked by ‘durability’. This is despite differing political systems and cultures, the significant changes both countries have undergone and shifting geopolitical and economic interests. Most studies approach China–Pakistan relations with a geostrategic outlook focused on India. However, Ghulam Ali explains that the ‘Indo-Pakistan rivalry remains constant, but the nature of China's relationship with India has transformed from what it was in the early 1960s’ as it now includes extensive economic ties and trade (p. 3). Given this shift, geopolitics alone does not fully account for China and Pakistan's expanding cooperation in diverse areas, such as defence and trade. Ali describes how the Sino-Pakistan relationship developed, partly out of antagonism towards India, but also for shared benefits in defence, economics, nuclear matters and broader diplomatic alliances. The first half of the book examines the period between the end of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War. During the ‘formative’ years from 1950 to 1962, there were limited relations due to a lack of enthusiasm for expanding the partnership and the countries' membership in opposing security alliances, with Pakistan supporting the United States. Following the lowest point in relations in 1959, Ali argues that ‘three sets of bilateral relationships were restructured, pushing Pakistan and China closer’, meaning changes in ‘Sino-Indian, Sino-Soviet, and US-Pakistan ties’ (p. 33). After the Sino-Indian War of 1962, the China–Pakistan relationship was strengthened, with China using Pakistan to widen its diplomatic connections, block Indian ambitions in the region and counter Soviet and US influence. Pakistan, in turn, obtained trade, loans, support for Kashmir and a possible substitute for relations with the United States. Ali explains the role Pakistan played in China establishing diplomatic ties with Iran and the United States, as well as China's support for Pakistan during its wars with India in 1965 and 1971. Highlighting the maturing of the relationship towards the end of the 1970s, Ali states that ‘its continuity was not affected by the far-reaching changes of leadership in the two countries which serves as a testament to its deep roots’ (p. 88).