China stresses common threats, security as it pushes for Iran-Pakistan engagement
- Since the Taliban retook control of neighbouring Afghanistan, concerns have grown over more frequent extremist activities
- Beijing is pushing for peace solutions, and Pakistan is a key regional partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure plan
China – mindful of a growing wariness from groups that perceive it as the “new enemy” – is attempting to mend deeply fractured ties between the two countries in the hope of bolstering individual counterterrorism capabilities to avoid spillover effects.
“From the Chinese perspective, the issue that has been the greatest concern, is the fact that you’re seeing a growing plurality of different groups talking about China as the enemy,” said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Pantucci said the spectrum of contempt has expanded from mainly Uygur militants to separatist and jihadist groups in Pakistan, which have targeted Chinese interests in the region as they mobilised people and resources.
If Pakistan and Iran get along, they will focus on the threats China is worried about rather than clashing with each other
“It is also within China’s thinking that if Pakistan and Iran get along, they will focus on the threats China is worried about rather than clashing with each other,” he said.