Pakistan Studies

Assignment
(HU-107)
Topic:
“Pakistan’s Foreign Relations With
People’s Republic Of China”

Submitted by:
1. Sana Jamal
Reg. no: 250191
2. Sarah Zaheer
Reg. no: 241829
Class: CHE-11 (Morning class)
(SCME)

Submitted to:
Sir Qamar Cheema

Dated: 3rd January, 2018

 “Pakistan’s Foreign Relations
With People’s Republic Of China”
INTRODUCTION:
Pakistan’s northern neighbor China is the most populous country of the world. The
people’s republic of China was established on Oct 1, 1949. Pakistan recognized the
newly established Chinese government in Jan 1950. On May 21, 1951, China and
Pakistan established formal diplomatic relations. Pakistan was one of the first
countries to recognize China. This opened a new chapter of history of bilateral
friendly cooperation. To develop China-Pakistan strategic partnership has won
sincere support from both leaders and peoples. Evolution of this extraordinary
relationship owes its genesis to the vision of the leadership of the two countries,
who based the relationship on the principles of peaceful co-existence, commonality
of interests, and shared perceptions on regional and global developments.

HISTORY OF PAK-CHINA RELATIONS:

Pakistan’s stand for China in 1950:

In 1950 Pakistan took a strong stand that People’s Republic of China had an
exclusive right to represent the Chinese people in the UNO.
Tibet issue:
In 1950 Pakistan remained neutral on the issue of China’s occupation of Tibet.
SEATO and CENTO:
Pakistan joined SEATO in 1954 and CENTO in 1955. The two military alliances
were sponsored by the USA and aimed mainly t containing Communist expansion.
China naturally had apprehensions about Pakistan’s membership, but in the Non-
Aligned Conference held in Indonesia in 1955, Pakistan’s Prime Minister
Muhammad Ali Bogra assured Chinese Prime Minister Chou En Lai that Pakistan
was in no way directed against China. Chou En Lai acknowledged the explanation
by expressing his gratitude.
Vote against China 1954:
Pakistan for the first time, in 1954, voted against China’s membership of UN. The
Chinese government observed restraint and did not comment on this unfriendly
gesture on part of Pakistan Government as they knew positively that Pakistan had
done this under American pressure.
Stance of China on Kashmir issue:
China did not support India on Kashmir issue. Chinese leadership was fully aware
that India had crazy military designs and aspired to establish hegemony over the
region. But with Chinese help and support Pakistan was able to engage India to
such extent that India was unable to pose a serious threat to China. It was in the
 year 1964 that China decided to support Pakistan, and since then her diplomatic
support on the issue has remained consistent.
Pakistan’s support to China in UN:
In response to this, Pakistan rendered useful support to China for securing a seat
in the United Nations.
China’s aid in Indo-Pak wars:
During 1965 Indo-Pak war, China gave Pakistan full support, but in the 1971 war,
China could not support Pakistan because Soviet Union stood openly on the
Indian’s side. However China gave Pakistan large scale economic and military aid
in the post-war period.
Pakistan’s role in Sino-American ties:
American leadership had distaste for Communist governments and they did not
like established of China in 1949. But as time passed by American policy towards
China changed. In American President Nixon’s period the American Foreign
Secretary flew secretly from Pakistan, landed in Peking and had dialogues with the
Chinese leadership. Cessation of hostilities between the two powerful foes paved
way for China’s membership of the UN, 21 years after its inception. This was made
possible only due to Pakistan’s good offices.

PAK-CHINA RELATIONS IN RECENT YEARS:

Since 1990s, great changes have taken place in the international situation. Instead
of being affected by the changing situation, the time-tested friendship and
cooperation between China and Pakistan has further developed.
China’s influence in Pak-U.S relations:
Despite increased cooperation between the United States and Pakistan since
2001, Islamabad places greater value on its relationship with Beijing than vice
versa, say analysts. Pakistan considers China a more reliable ally than the
United States, citing years of diplomatic manipulation and neglect on the part
of Washington. As this interactive timeline explains, Pakistan and China grew
closer in the 1960s as Washington and Islamabad began to part ways over the
handling of regional issues. In particular, Pakistan felt betrayed when
Washington cut off aid to Islamabad during its 1965 and 1971 wars with India.
Pakistan played a pivotal role as an intermediary during the U.S.-China
rapprochement in the early 1970s, but Pakistanis are still stung by what they see
as U.S. indifference toward their country after using it to funnel aid to the Afghan
mujahadeen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan.
Pak-India relations and China:
In April 2010, China announced its plan to build two new nuclear power reactors
in Pakistan in response to the U.S-India nuclear deal. The deal is seen as a
violation of the guidelines laid down by the Nuclear Suppliers Group of which
China is a member. China and Pakistan have traditionally valued one another
as a strategic hedge against India. "For China, Pakistan is a low-cost secondary
 deterrent to India," told the then Pakistani ambassador to the United States
Husain Haqqani. For Pakistan," he said, "China is a high-value guarantor of
security against India."
China’s support on war against terror:
Meanwhile, China is concerned over the increasing level of extremism inside
Pakistan. But China has constantly supported Pakistan on her efforts for
eradicating terrorism in the region and has also acknowledged our successes the
in war against terror on many forums. Pakistan and China also conducted a joint
ant-terrorism drill in July 2010.

DIPLOMATIC VISITS:

As friendly neighbours, China and Pakistan maintain close communication and

coordination on international and regional issues of common concerns. China has
always firmly supported Pakistan’s development and implementation of anti-
terrorism security strategy based on its national conditions. Heads of governments
have been paying frequent visits to each other’s country, most important among
these were Prime Minister Chou En Lai’s visit to Pakistan in 1956, and Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto’s visit to China in Feb. 1972.
On 20 April 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by the First Lady
and a delegation of high-level officials and businessmen, visits Pakistan. It is the
first visit to Pakistan by a Chinese president after a gap of 9 years and the first
foreign trip of Xi in 2015. 51 Memorandums of Understanding are signed,
including the plan of "Pakistan China Economic Corridor"
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have visited
China twice and reached important consensus with Chinese leaders on bilateral
relations and other major issues. Prime Minister Imran Khan also visited China
in November 2018 to further strengthen the ties and also to attend the
inaugural China International Import Expo in Shanghai as Guest of Honor, with a
anticipated keynote speech.

TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS:

Trade relations began shortly after the establishment of diplomatic ties in the
early 1950s, and the two countries signed their first formal trade agreement in
1963. A comprehensive free trade agreement was signed in 2008, giving each
country unprecedented market access to the other. There is a long list of trade
and cultural pacts concluded between Pakistan and China.

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

Enlisted here are a few projects completed in Pakistan with the Chinese assistance:
 · The Karakoram Highway: Inaugurated in 1978, this highway opened a new era
of friendship between Pakistan and China. It made land traffic possible between
the two countries. The volume of trade carried out between the two countries
through this route is expanding day by day. Construction of this highest land route
in the world was not as easy task. A great number of Pakistani and Chinese workers
laid their lives during the process.
· The Heavy mechanical Complex Taxila: This complex has been designed for
production of heavy machinery (sugar mills and the like).
· The Heavy Electrical Complex, Taxila
· Heavy Forge and Foundry: Al-Khalid tank was produced here.
· Gawadar Port: A seaport at Gawadar (Balochistan) has been put up with Chinese
assistance. This has brought about revolution in Pakistan’s economy, improved
Pakistan’s interaction with landlocked countries of Central Asia and helped
Pakistan meet her naval defense requirements better. China provided much of the
technical assistance and 80 percent of the funds for the construction of the port.
In return for providing most of the labor and capital for the project, China gains
strategic access to the Persian Gulf.
· Cooperation in field of Nuclear Energy: In order to meet its deficiency in
energy sector, Pakistan has built nuclear power station at Chashma with Chinese
assistance.

RECENT PROJECTS:

· Improvement in Pakistan Railways: System of railways and trains in

Pakistan is being upgraded and improved with technical assistance provided by
China. Recent example is the Orange Line and Green Line metro trains projects.
· CPEC: China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a part of the project OBOR(One Belt
One Road) initiated by China to connect herself to many countries of the world
with land routes. CPEC is the part concerned with Pakistan and it is the crown
jewel of OBOR. The CPEC will connect Pakistan with China and the Central
Asian countries with highway connecting Kashgar to Khunjerab and Gwadar.
Gwadar Port in southern Pakistan will serve as the trade nerve centre for China, as
most of its trade especially that of oil will be done through the port. According to
the plan, a key element in this is the creation of industrial parks, or special
economic zones, would be done with the provision of water, perfect infrastructure,
sufficient supply of energy and the capacity of self-service power.
· This is only an incomplete list of the projects launched in Pakistan with Chinese
assistance; there are numerous other departments and sectors in which the two
countries are coping usefully.
CONCLUSION:
China has been a close and dependable friend of Pakistan since 1972. This
friendship, despite manny adversities, has stood the test of time. It has grown and
expanded in all directions including science, technology, education and defense,
side by side with diplomatic cooperation.
As Pakistan continues to face economic woes with falling foreign investment, a
weakening currency, and an underperforming stock market, securing closer
economic cooperation with Beijing is seen as vital. Pakistan currently faces a
growing balance of payments deficit, and China’s capacity as a creditor may be able
to correct Islamabad’s urgent predicament
Pak-China friendship is based on mutual trust and peaceful coexistence, this
cooperation is free from aggressive designs against any other country of the world.

Long Live Pakistan-China friendship!

Zhong-Ba You Yi Wan Sui!