You could call them the odd couple. China and Pakistan have one of the closest yet least understood relationships in international diplomacy. On the surface they have little in common. China’s state is strong and its economy has been growing for decades. The Pakistani state, apart from the military, is weak and its economic performance has been disastrous. China is communist and religion is tightly controlled. Pakistan is Islamic and religious fervour is often out of control.
Despite this, the two have maintained a decades-long relationship. It has survived the vicissitudes of Pakistan’s military and civilian governments and of Islamabad’s shape-shifting relations with Washington. This week, Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, is visiting Pakistan to cement what Islamabad calls the “unshakeable bonds of friendship”. Next month could be even more important if Xi Jinping, China’s president, accepts an invitation to visit Islamabad for Pakistan Day celebrations.
We tend not to see things through Beijing’s eyes. If we are to make sense of shifting realities, we will have to try. From Beijing, the world can seem a hostile place. The US, with its unshakeable faith in liberal democracy, may not be actively seeking regime change in China but it would surely welcome the collapse of the Communist party.