China-Pakistan Relations: The Eye of the Storm?

On May 6 and 7, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang was in Pakistan, where he attended the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue as well as a meeting with Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir. As a good neighbor, good friend and good partner of Pakistan, China sincerely hopes that all political forces in Pakistan will build up consensus, maintain stability… so as to bring the country onto a fast track of development and revitalization.” On May 9, just two days after Qin left Islamabad, Pakistani authorities arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan, setting off violent protests across the country. As a sign of Beijing’s growing concerns, in February 2023, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a warning that Chinese citizens in Pakistan could face severe security threats and should exercise utmost caution. At the talks in early May, Qin told his Pakistani counterpart that China “expects Pakistan to continuously take the strictest measures to ensure the security and safety of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan.” He also mentioned that “China is ready to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in security capacity building and security system.” Thus far, Pakistan has resisted pressure from China to allow private security firms into the country to provide security for Chinese nationals, fearing a loss of sovereignty. Qin pledged during his recent trip to Islamabad that “China will, as always, work hand in hand with Pakistan to advance cooperation, further synergize development strategies of the two countries using the CPEC as a platform, share the opportunities of China's development, and promote the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future.” At a trilateral meeting with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts, there was even mention of “the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan”.