China and Pakistan Form Unlikely 75-Year Partnership with Strategic Alliance

Pakistan and China Celebrate 75 Years of Diplomatic Ties

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - Pakistan and China have maintained a long-standing diplomatic relationship, marked by strategic cooperation and mutual support. In March 1963, Pakistan transferred control of the Shaksgam Valley to China under a boundary agreement, which has been a point of contention with India over disputed Kashmir territory.

The transfer was made following China’s victory in its border war with India in 1962. Pakistan’s leadership concluded that Chinese control over the contested mountains would be more beneficial than attempting to fend off Indian claims itself.

In recent years, Pakistani parliamentarians have reaffirmed their commitment to the relationship, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addressing a Chinese parliamentary delegation during a visit to Islamabad. The Senate has also adopted a unanimous resolution titled “Re-affirming China-Pakistan Friendship and Brotherhood” to mark 75 years of diplomatic ties.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to embark on a four-day state visit to Beijing, accompanied by senior government and military officials. Joint statements and public addresses marking the anniversary are expected to emphasize the close relationship between the two countries.

Analysts suggest that the relationship appears more transactional and durable than previously thought, with structural complementarity playing a key role in its longevity. Historically, Pakistan and China have maintained a complex relationship, marked by periods of cooperation and tension.

In 1942, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founding father, met Chiang Kai-shek, the nationalist leader of wartime China, in Delhi. The meeting took place nine years after Jinnah founded Pakistan and formally recognized the communist state that had displaced Chiang’s republic on the mainland in January 1950.

The two countries have maintained a strong bond despite their differences, with China becoming one of the first non-communist states to recognize Pakistan.

Source: Al Jazeera