The expected arrival of Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo in Islamabad is being closely watched as a potentially significant development in the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Pakistan and the United States.
Veteran Chinese diplomat Dai Bingguo, regarded as one of the highest-
ranking figures of Chinese foreign policy in the Hu Jintao administration, is due to arrive over the weekend along with senior Chinese military officials on a three-day trip to discuss a host of regional issues with the top civilian and military leadership in Pakistan, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
The visit will come amid deepening economic and diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan while US-Pakistan relations continue to suffer after last month’s Nato strikes in Mohmand Agency. The high-powered delegation’s visit also coincides with the December 23 conclusion of US investigations into the cross-border strike. The attack on Pakistani outposts killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and led to a nosedive in relations between the disenchanted allies.
At the recently-held envoys’ conference, which was convened to identify and review ties with the United States that needed to be redefined, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Masood Khan conveyed to the government that Beijing had extended its full support to the steps taken by Islamabad in response to the Nato raid, according to an official source.
“The Chinese government has fully backed all our steps,” Ambassador Masood was quoted as telling the envoys’ conference. There is also chatter in diplomatic circles in Islamabad that improved ties with China will help reduce Pakistan’s reliance on the US.
Pakistan’s “all-weather friendship” with China has continued to see positive developments as ties with the US have remained fragile over the past year. Joint Sino-Pakistani military exercises, named YOUVI (Friendship), in November also highlighted the growing relations between the two countries. President Zardari has visited China eight times in the last three years, apart from Prime Minister Gilani’s four visits. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also paid a visit to Pakistan last year.
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