While meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China supported the two nations “handling differences through dialogue.”
Days after India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire, China said Tuesday that it backs Islamabad’s efforts to protect “national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
While meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China supported the two nations “handling differences through dialogue.”
According to a readout from China’s foreign ministry, Wang referred to Pakistan as an “ironclad friend” and pledged to strengthen the “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership” between the two nations.
China’s comments are noteworthy because they were made just after the ceasefire and at a period of increased military posture in the area. China is Pakistan’s largest weaponry supplier, as evidenced by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Dar’s confirmation that Islamabad used fighter jets built in China during recent hostilities with India.
Notably, a day after the Indian military used precision strikes to destroy terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian claimed he was unaware of any reports implying Chinese jets were involved in the attacks on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.
Beijing also referred to the Indian military’s Operation Sindoor as “regrettable” and stated that it was in favor of an unbiased inquiry into the Pahalgam terror incident.
As the India-backed IMEC becomes a powerful rival to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the ceasefire between India and Pakistan has shown China’s precarious geopolitical position as it balances its significant investments in Pakistan’s CPEC with expanding trade relations with India.
When CPEC was first introduced in 2013, it was hailed as the centerpiece project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing generously provided funding for the corridor, even though India saw it as a breach of its territorial sovereignty due to New Delhi’s position on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Although China is Pakistan’s steadfast supporter, analysts note that Beijing would not support a full-scale conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors because doing so would jeopardize its investments in Islamabad and strong commercial relations with India.
