Editorial | China’s ties to Pakistan above everyday politics
- No Pakistani leader has served a full, five-year term, with Imran Khan the latest.
- Such turmoil would be perplexing for most foreign governments, but Beijing has cause for less concern
No Pakistani leader has served a full, five-year term. Shehbaz Sharif’s replacing of Imran Khan after a no-confidence vote by parliament makes him the South Asian country’s 23rd prime minister until at least elections in August next year.
Such turmoil would be perplexing for most foreign governments, but Beijing has cause for less concern. Relations between the neighbours are so entwined and important that they are above everyday politics.
China and Pakistan have had good bilateral ties since the 1960s, with stable relations at the military, political and social levels. President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders have referred to the countries as “iron brothers”, while the Pakistani side speaks of the alliance as being “higher than the mountains, deeper than the seas and sweeter than honey”.
There is a strategic element, both having a common rival in India, and China counting on its help to ensure regional stability and security. Pakistan relies heavily on Chinese investment and trade and in turn, it has a critical role in Beijing’s mammoth Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure project.
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Protesters rally against Imran Khan’s removal as parliament elects new prime minister
The Pakistani leg of the initiative features the US$62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which ends at the port of Gwadar in the sometimes-restive southwestern province of Balochistan.