The basis for China's investment

The basis for China's investment focus is on its own strategic interest needs, not on Pakistan's development needs. However, Pakistan will be the party that has to repay the project loan.

Updated at 12:36 on April 26, 2017 , "Financial Times" British editorial

It is only natural that the Chinese look for reliable allies on the border. Russia is on the north, India is on the south, North Korea is increasingly unscrupulous on the east and turbulent Afghanistan is on the west. In this case, a good neighbor is in short supply. Pakistan is closest to what China calls "an all-weather friend," which shows how limited China's options are.

This is a weird relationship that has developed for decades. China continues to consolidate this relationship through billions of dollars in infrastructure and energy investment, military equipment exports, and bail-out loans to support the Pakistani exchange rate. Since last year, China's bailout loan to Pakistan reached 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, underscoring Islamabad's reliance on Beijing while the United States has taken the initiative to shake it. The Pakistani coalition poses a risk to both parties. In the meantime, the total abandoning of Pakistan, which possesses nuclear weapons, can not be tolerated by the West - although the West may want to do so.

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On the surface, the two countries have little in common. China is strong and its economy continues to grow. Pakistan, on the other hand, is weak in all aspects except military affairs and its economic performance is terrible. China is a communist country where religion is under strict control. Pakistan is an Islamic country full of religious enthusiasm.

Nevertheless, the development of common interests is a natural occurrence for these two neighboring countries. The alliance between China and Pakistan will help China to rebuild its ambition of rebuilding its Asian-centered China and at the same time not allow India's common opponent, India, to act rashly.

For Pakistan, there are some drawbacks to over-reliance on China. In recent years, Pakistan's trade deficit with China has doubled, resulting in accelerated loss of its foreign exchange reserves. This forced Pakistan to seek emergency loans from outside, including China, in order to maintain its ability to repay the old loans denominated in foreign currencies.

The basis for China's investment focus is on its own strategic interest needs, not on Pakistan's development needs. However, Pakistan will be the party that has to repay the project loan. China plans to build 55 billion U.S. dollars worth of infrastructure and energy projects as part of the "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" plan. The program will connect western China with Gwadar port in southern Pakistan via rail, road and energy supply pipelines. Pakistan has also become China's largest importer of military equipment and has ordered eight submarines. Specific terms of the contracts were not disclosed, leaving Pakistanis unable to judge whether they are worth the money or not.

Whether these projects can be commercially successful or can not be packaged. The glitzy projects funded by China are not uncommon. An example is the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, where it is currently difficult to pay staff salaries.

The most obvious risk to China is the eventual failure of Pakistan to pay off its debts, and one day it will no longer be a dependable dependent country for China, just as it is no longer a dependable subordinate to the United States. One hand in Islamabad hastened Islamic fundamentalism and the other hand restrained it, undermining Washington's relations with Washington. By the same token, Pakistan may be an unconscious partner to the Chinese people. China has every reason to fear that Islamism will infiltrate into western China across the borders with Palestine and China.

When the United States sees that China has rescued its former dependent countries, it may be relieved of its relief. It would be wrong to think so. In addition, the United States should not regard Pakistan as the object of its vying with China. On the contrary, it is in the common interest of the two superpowers in the United States to push forward the prosperous development of Pakistan, stop the export of terrorists from all over the world and begin to stabilize the complicated relations with its neighboring India.