In a major geo-political recalibration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday in the Chinese city of Tianjin, adding momentum to an Indo-Sino thaw. While analysts hail the meeting as a key development, especially in the shadow of Trump's tariff on India, the spotlight is also on how Pakistan, a Chinese ally, would react to the move.
While Islamabad has yet to officially respond to the event so far, the former president of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has called on Islamabad to be vigilant about the new development. Masood Khan, a former ambassador of Pakistan to the US, UN, and China, attempts to downplay India’s current rapprochement to China as just “tactical manoeuvring rather than a tectonic shift in the global order.”
In the piece that appeared in Geo News, Khan argues that India and China remain competitors. “Only after the conclusion — or collapse — of India-US tariff talks will the durability of India’s tilt toward China become clear,” he claims.
Khan then goes on to warn Islamabad, calling on it to remain vigilant. He says Pakistan has no reason to be worried about the Sino-India thaw. “But vigilance remains essential. Even during periods of Sino-Indian friction, New Delhi sought to obstruct Chinese loans to Pakistan under various pretexts,” he says, adding that the pattern may persist. “For Islamabad, the prudent course is to monitor dynamics carefully without overreacting,” he writes.
Reasserting that Pakistan has no reason to worry, Khan goes on to state that India is just manoeuvring between great powers rather than genuine reconciliation with China. “Beijing’s engagement with New Delhi is unlikely to dilute its strategic partnership with Pakistan,” Khan says in a bid to allay fears.
He says Beijing’s interest in New Delhi is to “enhance regional influence and chip away at Washington’s hold on New Delhi,” while for India, it is “leverage in tariff disputes with the US.”
He says Pakistan has to “remain watchful yet confident”. “Its ties with China are much deeper and strategic, while its renewed partnership with Washington has created a favourable balance and a new space,” he argues.