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Opinion | In debt and out of favour, Pakistan is struggling to patch up relations with China
- Attacks against Chinese nationals in Pakistan have tested bilateral ties, with Beijing pushing for a crackdown on terrorism
- Added to Islamabad’s security worries is a dispute over payments to Chinese power companies, which threatens to disrupt infrastructure projects and fuel economic strife
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After Saudi Arabia, China is the second country that every new Pakistani leader visits soon after taking charge. These inaugural trips are goodwill gestures that, in the past few years, have assumed added significance due Pakistan’s growing economic dependence on its close friends and allies.
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Against this backdrop, the unusual delay in Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to China points to strained bilateral relations, even though China has announced another rollover of its US$2.3 billion loan to shore up Pakistan’s depleting forex reserves.
Since Sharif assumed office, the Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has visited China, while Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, visited Pakistan, both in an effort to reinvigorate ties.
So, what accounts for the delay in Sharif’s own visit to China? According to some officials, the Covid-19 lockdown in Beijing is to blame; Sharif is likely to visit as soon as restrictions are lifted. This is necessary, but not a sufficient explanation.
China-Pakistan ties have taken a downturn since the Majeed Brigade, the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)’s suicide squad, targeted and killed three Chinese nationals working at the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute. In the past two years, attacks on Chinese nationals and projects have risen steadily in Balochistan province and in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, raising fears about their safety.
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