Pakistan’s tilt towards China
This writer is a senior foreign affairs correspondent at The Express Tribune
Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to undertake a visit to China this week. This will be his fourth visit to the country. He will primarily attend the opening ceremony of Winter Olympics in Beijing. The ceremony has foreign policy significance since the US and other western countries have boycotted it accusing China of human rights violations. But Pakistan’s decision to attend the ceremony is a clear signal to the West that Pakistan stands with China.
Ahead of the visit, the Prime Minister told Chinese journalists that he was amazed at the double standards of the West which talked about the alleged human rights violations by China against Muslims but turned a blind eye towards the grave human rights abuses being committed by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The PM said Pakistan’s ambassador to China visited the troubled region and found no evidence suggesting China was involved in human rights abuses. So, the purpose of PM Imran’s visit is twofold: one, to show solidarity with China at a time when its relationship with the US and other Western countries are at the lowest ebb; and two, to expedite work on the second phase of CPEC. While the first phase of the economic corridor project focused on roads and connectivity and power projects, the second one is concerned with operationalising special economic zones and transferring technology and industry to Pakistan. The PM will be accompanied by a high-powered delegation that will discuss all these issues in depth.
The PTI government’s renewed focus on CPEC stems from the fact that there is currently a dip in Pakistan’s relationship with the US, particularly after the exit of the US-led foreign forces from Afghanistan. Pakistan sought to improve relations with the US and broaden the spectrum of bilateral ties, but the Biden administration is not keen to look at Pakistan beyond the prism of Afghanistan and counterterrorism cooperation. On top of that President Biden has yet to speak to Prime Minister Imran despite being in the office for a year now. This illustrates where things are heading. Pakistan does insist that it is not into “block politics”, meaning it wants good relationship with all the countries particularly with the US and China. But the reality is that Pakistan has already picked China as its long-term and trusted partner.
On the eve of his visit to Beijing, Prime Minister Imran said there is a feeling in Pakistan that China always stood by Pakistan in difficult times; while the role of the US is always seen with suspicion — not only among the public but also among the policymakers who are strongly of the view that the US has used Pakistan for its own interests and dumped it once it found no utility of the country.
The trouble, however, is that while China is emerging as a global economic power, the US still controls the global financial system. One example is Afghanistan. After the US exit from the war-torn country, the banking channels in Afghanistan are non-existent. The reason is that banks in Afghanistan are not accepting any international transactions because of fear of the US sanctions. That is just one aspect. The US clout over IMF and FATF is also quite significant. But despite these complexities it is evident that Pakistan is not going to abandon China. The US and other Western countries are also aware of the fact that they are not in a position to substitute China in Pakistan.
The Foreign Office spokesperson summed up Pakistan’s ties with China by saying that both countries have a “shared future in the new era”.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2022.
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