Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Pakistan plays China card with Prime Minister's visit
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (2)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our top photos from the past 48 hours. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
WRAPUP 10-IMF chief denied bail, jailed in sex assault case
16 May 2011
Historic Vicksburg, Mississippi faces flood siege
|
16 May 2011
UPDATE 1-RIM nears 2-year low after recalling some Playbooks
16 May 2011
HP to pull trigger early on results after CEO memo
12:13am EDT
Cathay emergency landing triggers investigation
16 May 2011
Discussed
134
Son says bin Laden sea burial demeans family: report
96
Texas county official says ”stupid” feds sparked fire
76
Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders
Watched
Fire ants form rafts to defy floods
Tue, Apr 26 2011
Boot camp for rebels in Libya
Sun, May 15 2011
Shuttle Endeavour blasts off
Mon, May 16 2011
Pakistan plays China card with Prime Minister's visit
Tweet
Share this
By Chris Buckley
BEIJING (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's visit to China from Tuesday allows Islamabad to show it has another major power to turn to just as relations with the United States have turned increasingly strained...
Email
Print
Factbox
Ties between China and Pakistan
1:06am EDT
Related News
Q+A: Why the attention on Pakistan's Chashma nuclear complex?
12:32am EDT
Analysis & Opinion
U.S.-Pakistan and the phone calls after the bin Laden raid
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons no defence against a forceful America
Related Topics
World Home »
China »
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilan (R) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao before their meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Islamabad December 17, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Mian Khursheed
By Chris Buckley
BEIJING |
Tue May 17, 2011 1:06am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's visit to China from Tuesday allows Islamabad to show it has another major power to turn to just as relations with the United States have turned increasingly strained after the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The visit is part of long-planned celebrations for 60 years of diplomatic ties but the vows of support from Beijing will be especially timely for Islamabad.
"This visit will be a show for the U.S., the Pakistani public and the wider world that Pakistan has other options," said Andrew Small, a researcher at the German Marshall Fund think tank in Brussels who has studied China's role in Pakistan.
"There's no impression that China could step into the United States' shoes, but it's a useful bargaining chip."
An already tense relationship with the United States, Pakistan's major donor, was badly bruised after U.S. forces on May 2 killed bin Laden in Pakistan where he appears to have been in hiding for several years.
Senior U.S. Senator John Kerry, speaking in Islamabad on Monday, warned that members of U.S. Congress were asking "tough questions" about aid to Islamabad over bin Laden, though he said ties were too important to be unraveled by the incident.
HANDSHAKES AND SMILES
In Beijing, Gilani has no worry of any public upbraiding.
"At least, this way Pakistan can tell the United States that it still has China to turn to, and China does indeed have to show support for Pakistan to help it get past its current hardships," said Hu Shisheng, an expert on China's relations with South Asian countries at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a government think tank in Beijing.
In an address to the nation about bin Laden's death, Gilani described China as an "all-weather friend" for Pakistan where the United States is widely distrusted despite the billions of dollars it spends there in aid, in large part to sustain the Pakistani military in the war against Islamist militants.
But Pakistan's government and military are too reliant on U.S. security and economic aid -- about $20 billion in the past 10 years -- to risk that alliance.
Nor does Beijing want to wade into volatile Pakistani politics, risking its own interests and alienating India, a big but wary trade partner, said several observers.
A STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVE? NOT YET
Chinese officials and state media have indicated that they will use the four-day visit to cast Beijing as a steadfast partner -- unlike Washington, described in one editorial as a fickle and demanding interloper.
"U.S. opinion has not only failed to criticize its own unilateralism in this action (against bin Laden) violating Pakistani territorial sovereignty, it has vilified Pakistan as a scapegoat for its own rough going in its war against terror," said an editorial on Monday in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, China's main official newspaper.
Business with China has been increasingly important for Pakistan's troubled economy. China has also been crucial to Pakistan's nuclear energy expansion, despite jitters in Washington, New Delhi and other capitals.
Beijing's support for Pakistan reflects its worries about instability spilling into its own western regions, especially heavily Muslim Xinjiang, said Hamayoun Khan, an lecturer at the National Defense University in Islamabad who studies China.
"Pakistan is a strategic ally of China, in terms of real politik," said Khan. "It's a counter-weight to India, and it's a counterweight to the U.S. interests in the region."
(Additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani and John Chalmers in Singapore and Rebecca Conway in Islamabad. editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
World Home
China
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (2)
daniwitz13 wrote:
Kerry warns Pakistan about bin Laden. China welcomes the Pakistani envoy. BIG difference. The US exerts a strong arm while the Chinese extends a welcome hand. BIG difference. The US raids, kill and plunder into Pakistani territory, then try to put the blame on the Pakistanis. And make further demands and insists on compliance from Pakistan. It is no wonder that China appears to be a better choice of partners. Pity.
May 17, 2011 1:56am EDT -- Report as abuse
truthtorpedo wrote:
“China card” ? is this some sort of new journalism or poornalism? What kind of rubbish article does reuters allow nowadays?
Pakistan has no card, it was always close to China from early on, in fact it was Pakistan which played the role of midwife to bring the China-US friendship alive.
stupid arrogant Americans.
May 17, 2011 2:06am EDT -- Report as abuse
See All Comments »
Add Your Comment
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 Sleepy Irish village braces for Obama homecoming
|
Tepco to start compensating Fukushima evacuees by fall
|
Nigeria post-election violence killed 800: rights group
|
Recovering Nelson Mandela votes in South Africa election
|
AOL expands local news network in U.S.
|
Winklevoss twins lose bid to reopen Facebook case
|
Libya says telecoms staff to act shield against NATO
|
Google debuts in high-grade bond market with $3 billion deal
|
Lady Gaga to perform on Letterman in album media blitz
|
LA rapper M-Bone killed in drive-by shooting
|
Bomb found near Dublin ahead of UK Queen's visit
|
NATO incursion into Pakistan wounds two troops: officials
|
War crimes prosecutor targets Gaddafi and allies
|
U.S. deepens engagement with Afghan Taliban to end war: report
|
Pakistan plays China card with Prime Minister's visit
|
Japan keeps Fukushima shutdown target despite setbacks
|
China plays down U.N. report on North Korea, Iran proliferation
|
Syrians find 13 bodies in Deraa mass grave: residents
|
AOL says no thanks to private equity
|
HP to pull trigger early on results after CEO memo
|
Nvidia head sees competition for iPad
|
Vodafone surprises with bullish outlook
|
Winklevoss twins lose bid to reopen Facebook case
|
U.S. lays out priorities for future of cyberspace
|
Survivor finale wins big for U.S. network CBS
|
Angelina Jolie Bosnia movie gets Dec. release
|
Hunting for the next Steig Larsson in Cannes
|
Netflix, Miramax strike multi-year streaming deal
|
'Survivor' contestant Russell Hantz lands series
|
French Left in crisis talks over Strauss-Kahn case
|
Witness: Expelled from Bahrain, a nation now in fear
|
Militant leader says all Russia is a battleground
|
Wife of Mubarak released but still faces probe
|
Sony defends response time to hacker breach
|
LinkedIn IPO price range boosted by 30 percent
|
Private equity in talks for Nokia Siemens: sources
|
Olympus says expects to give earnings outlook by end: June
|
Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered child outside marriage
|
Finnish fairytale wins fans, Cannes films warm up
|
Warm welcome at Cannes for Gibson's The Beaver
|
Angelina Jolie Bosnia movie gets December release
|
Hippie, control freak, editor, star: Gaga in action
|
Lady Gaga to perform on Letterman in album media blitz
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights