China–Pakistan relations

China–Pakistan relations began in 1950 when Pakistan was among the first countries to break relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and recognise the People's Republic of China. Following the Sino-Indian hostilities of 1962, Pakistan's relations with the PRC became stronger; since then, the two countries have regularly exchanged high-level visits resulting in a variety of agreements. The PRC has provided economic, military and technical assistance to Pakistan.

The relationship has been described by Hu Jintao as "higher than the mountains and deeper than oceans". Favourable relations with China have been a pillar of Pakistan's foreign policy. China strongly supported Pakistan's opposition to Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and was perceived by Pakistan as a regional counterweight to India. China and Pakistan also share a close military relation, with China supplying a range of modern armaments to the Pakistani defence forces. China supports Pakistan's stance on Kashmir while Pakistan supports China on the issue of Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan. Lately, military cooperation has deepened with joint projects producing armaments ranging from fighter jets to guided missile frigates. Chinese cooperation with Pakistan has reached high economic points with substantial investment from China in Pakistani infrastructural expansion, including the noted project in the Pakistani deep water port in Gwadar. Both countries have an ongoing free trade agreement. Pakistan has served as China's main bridge between Muslim countries. Pakistan had earlier played a leading role in bridging the communication gap between China and the West, through Henry Kissenger's secret visit.



Background
Pakistan has an enduring, multi-dimensional and deep-rooted relationship with China. The long-standing ties of friendship between the two countries are underpinned by mutual trust and confidence. A close identity of views and mutuality of interest remain the hallmark of bilateral ties. Pakistan has always supported China on all issues of importance to the latter, especially those related to the question of China's sovereignty e.g. Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Tibet and other sensitive issues such as human rights.[citation needed]

The Chinese leadership has always appreciated Pakistan's steadfast support on issues of their concern. They are also generous in acknowledging the significant role of Pakistan in the early 1970s, which enabled China to break its isolation from the West and the US, when Henry Kissenger secretly visited Beijing. Pakistan also helped China become a member for the United Nations and has also been instrumental in providing excellent relations of China with the Muslim world.[citation needed]

China has also supported Pakistan through thick and thin. The Kashmir issue has always been supported, while in 2008 during Pakistan-Indian tensions, it promised unlimited financial and military aid. Pakistan and China have also been involved in technology exchanged. Although earlier, it would be mostly sharing, it now remains in the favour of Chinese

Pakistan-China military relations
The People's Republic of China's military relationship with Pakistan's military has often been regarded by the leaders of both countries as all weather and time tested.[citation needed] This relationship between two Asian countries, who are joined with a common border, is important in the world's geo-strategic alliances. The policy of having good relations between the armed forces was taken by the leaders to counter the balance of power in the Asia. On the one hand Indian and Soviet Union, and on the other hand Pakistan and China's policies to counter it. In recent years this relationship has deepened even further by having defence agreements between Pakistan and China.

China has been a steady source of military equipment to the Pakistani Army and also has helped Pakistan to set-up mass weapons production factories and also have given technology assistance and modernized facilities. [1]

In the last 20 years, the countries are involved in the joint venture of several projects to enhance military and weaponry systems, which includes JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft, K-8 Karakorum advance training aircraft, space technology, AWACS, Al-Khalid tank, Babur cruise missile. The armies have a schedule for organising joint military exercises. [2]

China is the largest investor in the Gwadar Deep Sea Port, which is strategically located at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. [3]

China has offered to Pakistan military aid in order to fight against the terrorist activities on their (Pakistan's) soil. Beijing will further cooperate with Islamabad in dealing firmly with terrorists. After the aid The Islamic Republic of Pakistan will also purchase military equipment from China to fight terror to which China have agreed. This will strengthen cooperation between two Armed Forces. [4]

In the past, China played a major role in the development of Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure, especially when increasingly stringent export controls in Western Countries made it difficult for Pakistan to acquire materials and uranium enriching equipment from elsewhere. China has supplied Pakistan with equipment to enrich it's indigenous uranium to weapons grade.

In the 1990s, China designed and supplied the heavy water Khusab reactor, which plays a key role in Pakistan's production of plutonium. A subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation also contributed in Pakistan's efforts to expand its uranium enrichment capabilities by providing 5,000 custom made ring magnets, which are a key component of the bearings that facilitate the high-speed rotation of centrifuges.

China also provided technical and material support in the completion of the Chasma Nuclear Power Reactor and plutonium reprocessing facility, which was built in the mid 1990s. [5]

China has also launched Pakistan's first satellite to orbit in 1990 because Pakistan had no Spaceport. However, Pakistan does have a space program. Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) is Pakistan’s national space agency and was established in 1961. [6]

Timeline

Prime Ministers of Pakistan and China inaugurating the project of Sukh Chayn GardensChinese President Hu Jintao, making the first visit to Pakistan by a Chinese president in a decade, promised to bolster his country's ties with its old ally to a new level. Following are some of the most important events in relations between the two neighbors.

1950 - Pakistan becomes third non-communist country, and first Muslim one, to recognize China.
1951 - Beijing and at the time Karachi established diplomatic relations between themselves in the month of May.
1970 - Pakistan helps US make contacts with China that result in visit to China by then US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger in 1971.
1978 - Karakoram Highway linking mountainous Northern Pakistan with Western China officially opens.
1980s - China and US supply help through Pakistan to Afghan guerrillas fighting Soviet occupational forces.
1986 - China and Pakistan reach comprehensive nuclear Co-operation Agreement.
1996 - Chinese President Jiang Zemin pays state visit to Pakistan.
1999 - A 300-megawatt nuclear power plant, built with Chinese help in Punjab province, is completed. China is helping to build a second 300-megawatt nuclear plant due to be finished by 2010.
2001 - A joint-ventured Chinese-Pakistani tank, the MBT-2000 (Al-Khalid) MBT, comes into full production.
2002 - Chinese Vice Premier Wu Bangguo attends ground-breaking ceremony for Pakistan's Gwadar deep-sea port. China provides $198 million for $248 million joint project.
2003 - Pakistan and China signed a $110 million contract for the construction of a housing project on Multan Road in Lahore [7]
2007 - Sino- became Pakistan's biggest arms supplier with no strings attached, a true "strategic partnership".
2007 - Sino-Pakistani joint-ventured multirole fighter aircraft - JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Fierce Dragon) is formally rolled out. 2008, Pakistan starts mass production of the aircraft.
2008 - China warns US of war against Pakistan, during which former president, Pervez Musharraf, visits China, Musharraf raised issues of US attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan's foreign office (the first foreign issue to speak of Tibet) speaks for more than three times per month on the Tibet issue, calling for the world to stop opposing China and the Olympic Games.
Pakistan welcomes China's Olympic Torch warmly, and did not protest against Tibet when the torch arrived. In fact, when the torch passed through the rural hinterland of the capital Islamabad, local villagers showered rose petals upon the procession. As a result, China thanked Pakistan for its continuous support.
2008 During the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, Pakistan almost emptied its national storage of tents to support China.
2008 China and Pakistan sign an FTA (free trade agreement). It is the first such agreement signed by the two countries. As a direct result China has opened new industries in Pakistan and Pakistan has been given free trade zones in China.
2008 China vows to help Pakistan in civil nuclear technology by building and helping in the Khusab Nuclear Programme providing technology to Pakistan for better maintenance of civil nuclear plants.
2008 Pakistan and China to build first ever train route through the Karakoram Highway, ultimately linking China's rail route-net to Gwadar Port.
2008 The F-22P frigate, comes into service with the Pakistani Navy. The first frigate was inducted in Pakistani Navy in July 2009 and last one is expected to be in 2013.[8]
2009 Pakistani intelligence agencies helped the Chinese government of catching several suspected Uyghur terrorists seeking haven in Pakistan and planning to launch illegal operations.
2009 Growing military ties between China and Pakistan are a serious concern to India, Defense Minister A.K. Antony said on Friday, in the latest display of a prickly rivalry between New Delhi and its neighbors. India worries about China's rising influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region, a neighborhood New Delhi has traditionally considered as its sphere of influence.[9]