China, Pakistan reaffirm longstanding ties

China and Pakistan pledged on Jan 5 to further deepen ties and expand cooperation, reaffirming their historically “ironclad” friendship as signs of rapprochement between Islamabad and Washington grow.

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Pakistan is one of China’s closest partners, diplomatically supporting Beijing on a wide range of internationally sensitive issues ranging from the status of Taiwan to Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.

In exchange, Beijing has poured billions of dollars into the South Asian country through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road trade and infrastructure initiative.

But repeated Islamist militant attacks on Chinese nationals working on the CPEC and other projects in Pakistan have become a major source of tension in recent years.

Adding to the complexity in the Sino-Pakistani relationship, US-Pakistani ties have warmed since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago and landed a diplomatic victory in a region that China regards as within its sphere of influence.