Pakistan recommits to China bond amid Trump shadow over India ceasefire

Islamabad, Pakistan – As Pakistan sought to support itself against Indian missiles and drones launched astatine its subject bases and cities successful aboriginal May, it relied connected an improbable operation of assets: Chinese missiles and aerial defence; Chinese and United States combatant jets; and US diplomacy.

The missiles, aerial defence and jets helped Pakistan thwart immoderate devastating hits connected its airbases and assertion it had brought down multiple Indian combatant planes – an assertion that India has neither confirmed nor denied.

The diplomacy sealed a ceasefire that Pakistan has publically welcomed and thanked the Donald Trump medication for.

Yet, arsenic the US has successful caller years progressively picked India implicit Pakistan arsenic its main South Asian partner, Pakistan this week worked to reassure China that Beijing remained its astir coveted ally.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who besides serves arsenic overseas minister, visited Beijing earlier this week, gathering his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi connected May 20 successful the archetypal high-profile overseas sojourn by a Pakistani person since the ceasefire.

According to a connection from the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 2 sides discussed the fallout of the little but aggravated struggle with India, the ceasefire, and Islamabad’s disapproval of New Delhi’s actions.

During the gathering with Wang, Dar highlighted India’s “unilateral and amerciable decision” to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a six-decade water-sharing agreement. India halted the accord pursuing the April 22 Pahalgam onslaught successful Indian-administered Kashmir, which near 26 radical dead. Delhi blamed the onslaught connected Pakistan-based equipped groups, an allegation Islamabad denies.

Wang, meanwhile, welcomed the ceasefire, describing it arsenic serving the “fundamental and semipermanent interests of some sides [India and Pakistan]” portion promoting determination peace.

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50, held in-depth consultations with the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, contiguous successful Beijing.

Both sides exchanged views connected evolving concern successful South Asia, aboriginal trajectory of Pakistan-China… pic.twitter.com/mL03ljzyFr

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) May 20, 2025

Getting Wang connected committee was captious for Pakistan, accidental analysts.

‘Power conflict successful South Asia’

With South Asia sitting connected a tinderbox during the caller Pakistan-India standoff, a larger geopolitical contest loomed successful the background.

Pakistan, erstwhile a cardinal US ally, has shifted decisively into China’s orbit, relying connected its northwestern neighbour heavy for economical and subject support.

Meanwhile, India, agelong known for its non-alignment policy, has leaned person to the US successful caller years arsenic portion of a strategy to antagonistic China’s rising influence.

Shahid Ali, an adjunct prof of planetary relations astatine Lahore College for Women University, who specialises successful Pakistan-China relations, said the timing and optics of Dar’s sojourn were significant.

“While Pakistan hoped to get China’s afloat diplomatic enactment for its struggle with India, particularly regarding the suspension of the IWT, the sojourn besides provided Dar a bully accidental to apprise China astir US-led ceasefire dynamics, besides reassuring them of Pakistan’s longstanding all-weather strategical partnership,” Ali told Al Jazeera.

Erum Ashraf, a UK-based student focused connected Pakistan-China ties and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a $62bn mega task launched a decennary agone – echoed this view.

She said the gathering allowed China to amended recognize what promises Pakistan whitethorn person made to the US and President Trump, who helped mediate the ceasefire.

“The Chinese indispensable beryllium acrophobic however Pakistan managed to summation President Trump’s enactment to speech of ceasefire and to adjacent connection to resoluteness the substance of Kashmir betwixt some countries. The Chinese interest however US power successful their backmost gait could interaction their involvement successful the region,” she told Al Jazeera.

CPEC remains a cornerstone

Pakistan’s erstwhile ambassador to China, Masood Khalid, called Beijing a “logical” archetypal halt for Islamabad’s efforts to usage diplomacy to propulsion its communicative astir the situation with India successful the aftermath of the ceasefire.

He noted that beyond the caller India-Pakistan subject confrontation, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor remained a cardinal pillar of bilateral cooperation.

“The overseas curate whitethorn apprise the Chinese broadside of the information steps which Pakistan has taken for Chinese nationals’ protection,” Khalid told Al Jazeera.

Indeed, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang prodded some countries to enactment unneurotic to make an “upgraded mentation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.”

CPEC, launched successful 2015 nether then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the elder member of existent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has been hailed arsenic a “game-changer” for Pakistan.

It is simply a cardinal constituent of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a immense web of roads, bridges and ports dispersed crossed astir 100 countries that Beijing hopes volition recreate the past Silk Road commercialized routes linking Europe and Asia.

However, CPEC has faced repeated delays, particularly successful Balochistan, wherever its crown jewel, the Gwadar Port, is located.

Separatist groups successful Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but poorest province, person agelong waged an equipped rebellion against the authorities and person repeatedly deed Chinese unit and installations, accusing them of benefitting from the province’s immense earthy resources.

According to Pakistani authorities figures, astir 20,000 Chinese nationals unrecorded successful the country. At slightest 20 person been killed since 2021 successful assorted attacks successful antithetic parts of Pakistan.

While Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry did not notation it explicitly, the Chinese connection quoted Dar arsenic saying his state would marque each effort to “ensure the information of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions successful Pakistan”.

Muhammad Faisal, a South Asia information researcher astatine the University of Technology Sydney, said the information of Chinese nationals remains Beijing’s “topmost concern”.

“Even arsenic the situation with India heightened, the beingness of a ample fig of Chinese nationals successful Pakistan, successful immoderate ways, compelled Beijing to question swift situation de-escalation,” helium told Al Jazeera.

‘China’s high-wire act’

Between April 22, erstwhile the Pahalgam onslaught occurred, and May 7, erstwhile India struck targets wrong Pakistani territory, a planetary diplomatic effort was qui...