Pak-China friendship dates back to the 1950s when Pakistan was among the first countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China.
Formal diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan were established in 1950. Since then, the relationship has been cordial for more than half a century, influenced by geopolitical interests.
The two countries resolved all their boundary disputes with the Sino-Pakistani Agreement of 1963.
A strategic alliance was formed in 1972, and economic cooperation began in earnest by 1979.
China has become Pakistan’s largest supplier of armaments and third-largest trading partner. Recently, China has moved forward with an agreement to cooperate in improving the Pakistani civil nuclear power sector.
The People’s Liberation Army and the Pakistan Armed Forces share a notably close relationship. China has supported Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir conflict, while Pakistan has supported China’s position on the Xinjiang controversy, the Tibetan sovereignty debate, and the political status of Taiwan. Military cooperation between the two sides has continued to increase significantly, with joint projects producing armaments ranging from fighter jets to guided missile frigates.
Both countries have generally pursued a bilateral policy that focuses on strengthening their alliance in all areas.
Pakistan has played an important role in closing the communication gap between China and the United States, particularly through the 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China. Pakistan also serves as a conduit for China’s influence in the Muslim world.
According to a 2014 poll by the BBC World Service, over 75% of Pakistanis view China’s influence positively, with less than 15% expressing a negative view. Chinese citizens have been reported in similar polls as holding the third-most positive opinion of Pakistan’s influence in the world, behind only Indonesia and Pakistan itself. In March 2022, a poll coordinated by Palacký University Olomouc found that 73% of Chinese citizens held favorable views of Pakistan, placing it behind only Russia in that regard.
Pakistan has a long and strong relationship with China. The long-standing ties between the two countries have been mutually beneficial. A close identity of views and mutual interests remain the center-point of bilateral ties. Since the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Pakistan has supported China on most issues of importance to the latter, especially those related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Tibet and other sensitive issues such as human rights.
Pakistan helped China in reestablishing formal ties with the West, where they helped make possible the 1972 Nixon visit to China. Pakistan has collaborated with China in extensive military and economic projects, seeing both as counterweights to an Indian-Western alliance. Pakistan has also served as a conduit for China’s influence in the Muslim world.
China has a consistent record of supporting Pakistan in regional issues. Pakistan’s military depends heavily on Chinese armaments, and joint projects of both economic and militaristic importance are ongoing. China has supplied blueprints to support Pakistan’s nuclear program.
The basis of the Sino-Pak entente from its beginning has been “a mutual need to pool together resources to contain perceived Indian aspirations to hegemony over South Asia.”
political considerations drew China and Pakistan close at a time when Pakistan was a member of two explicitly anti-communist alliances, CENTO and SEATO. Since then, the informal alliance that initially began as mutual opposition towards India has grown into a lasting relationship that has benefited both nations on the diplomatic, economic, and military frontiers. Along with diplomatic support, Pakistan served as a conduit for China to open up to the West. China has, in turn, provided extensive economic aid and political support to Pakistan.
Since the two sides established their “all-weather diplomatic relations,” there have been frequent exchanges between the two countries’ leadership and peoples. For example, former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai received warm welcomes in all of his four visits to Pakistan. When Zhou died in 1976, then-Pakistani Ambassador to China rushed to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 8 in the morning without an appointment. Upon arriving at the ministry, the ambassador cried due to his grief in front of Chinese diplomats. In 2004, a road in Pakistani capital Islamabad leading to the Diplomatic Enclave was named “Zhou Enlai Road.” ItThere was a problem generating a response. Please try again later.
