How much should countries know about other countries before they can successfully establish close relations? Is knowledge about the other a prerequisite for lasting cooperation? Teaching in a university, I find it striking how few can name a Chinese author or a film, to say nothing about knowledge of Chinese history or culture. At a moment when Pakistan has signed on to a long-term relationship with our giant neighbour — that has myriad financial and strategic consequences — this knowledge deficit about our steadfast friend to the east is reason to pause and take stock.

In Pakistan, expertise on China, while not entirely absent, could certainly be said to be lacking. While there is some scholarship as well as dialogue within the policy-making community, not much of it has permeated into the public domain. With the publication of China-Pakistan Relations: A Historical Analysis, an important step has been taken to reduce the knowledge deficit about Pakistan’s relations with China. Spanning nearly seven decades — Pakistan extended diplomatic recognition to the People’s Republic in 1950 — Ghulam Ali (visiting scholar and faculty at Peking University) has offered a broad and accessible account. Published locally, this book deserves to be widely read. Ali has offered a survey that makes bilateral relations accessible to the broader public, and China is surely a country we need to be more informed about.

First, an overview. Structured chronologically, the book takes the reader through bilateral relations, with a chapter devoted to each decade. From the establishment of diplomatic relations to the latest iteration of bilateral ties — the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — China-Pakistan Relations covers most aspects of bilateral ties, although focusing primarily on diplomatic relations. The chapters are descriptive, taking the reader along through a sequence of events. The final chapter, ‘Factors of Durability’, consolidates the findings to draw conclusions (more on that below). The book does not go into great detail about any particular facet of bilateral relations, or engage with international relations theory. While experts may be left hoping for more detail, the general reading audience — for whom this book is best suited — should appreciate its brisk pace, jargon-free presentation and accessible style. China-Pakistan Relations is based on news sources from Pakistan and China as well as published scholarly sources and Ali also relies on interviews with experts in the two countries. Overall, the book is comprehensive: what it may occasionally lack in detail, it makes up for in breadth.

As China makes greater inroads into Pakistan, it is useful to know of the history behind the two countries’ long association

Next, what do we learn? Primarily, that for the most part this has been a sincere friendship that has grown steadily. Consider, for example, that one of the striking aspects of early diplomatic relations was Pakistan’s steadfast attempts to have the People’s Republic of China given representation at the United Nations (until 1971, Taipei held the UN seat). This was a principled stance on the part of Pakistan. Or that China, in turn, reciprocated by siding with Pakistan on the matter of plebiscite in Kashmir (it was only in the 1980s that Kashmir faded from the bilateral diplomatic lexicon). Put differently, this was a relationship in which both sides were sympathetic to each other’s domestic and foreign policy priorities.

Second, despite close links, there were moments when relations between the two countries were strained, such as in the late 1950s when, as Ali describes, Gen Ayub Khan lobbied Jawaharlal Nehru to establish a joint defence against communist neighbours. India did not reciprocate and China retorted by asking whom this joint defence was against as Beijing did not have any territorial ambitions against neighbouring states. One conclusion we can draw is that the bilateral relationship was able to weather differences, few and far between though they might be.

Third — as Ali’s account also demonstrates — the relations between the two countries constituted a relationship between equals. China has been a good friend to Pakistan, but Pakistan was also a steadfast friend to China. Differences in territorial size, population, or indeed, the size of the economy, did not distort the relationship between equals.

Ali’s narrative lends credence to current expressions of fraternity between the two countries, but as he points out in his penultimate chapter, this fraternity is also contoured by a range of external variables: geographical proximity, uneasy relations with India (what Ali describes as “the India factor” informed by territorial disputes between India and China, and India and Pakistan), relations with the United States and Pakistan’s role within the Muslim world. In other words, this relationship is mutually beneficial, in part because of the individual foreign policy concerns of both countries.

‘Mutual benefit’ is, of course, a central tenet of the public narrative surrounding CPEC. As Pakistan moves forward in deepening ties with China — based on the expectation of mutual benefit — it is worth taking stock of how these relations evolved, focusing in particular on what made bilateral relations between the two countries work in the past. Consider, for example, that Pakistan-China relations were strong for decades even though there was comparatively little trade between the two countries. With CPEC, the emphasis is on trade and investment. Is this a new relationship or an evolution of the old one? Are we still on the same track, or do we need a new paradigm for the 21st century Pakistan and China? These are big questions. I don’t have a conclusive answer and I doubt anyone does.

Ideally, these questions would segue into a national debate. Herein lies the value of China-Pakistan Relations; this timely book gives a historical framework from where to launch this conversation, and a comprehensive overview of how the relations evolved. If one is to make sense of where the current relations between China and Pakistan are heading, it is critical to appreciate how the relationship took shape in the years past. This book should be widely read in Pakistan; it is highly recommended.

The reviewer teaches history at the Lahore University of Management Sciences

China-Pakistan Relations: A Historical
Analysis
By Ghulam Ali
Oxford University Press, Karachi
ISBN: 978-0199402496
280pp.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, June 25th, 2017