According to Chinese strategic experts, Islamabad is aware of the boundaries given his goal to limit Beijing’s worldwide influence, even as US President Donald Trump has strengthened his nation’s ties with Pakistan, China’s all-weather partner.
According to a recent “Economist” article, the outcome of General Munir’s US visit marks a shift in American foreign policy, with implications not only for India but also China and the Middle East.
General Munir did not meet with President Xi Jinping while in Beijing, but he did meet with Vice President Han Zheng, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and senior PLA personnel. In contrast, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, his predecessor, met Xi when he visited China in 2018.
China Understates Trump’s Outreach to Pakistan
Beijing’s strategic experts argue that Pakistan will continue its deep-rooted partnership with China as the Trump administration strengthens ties with Islamabad. They aver that all the initiatives Trump is bringing forth, including the oil deal announced after General Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Army Chief, met with him in Washington, will not be able to disrupt the structural stability of Sino-Pak relations.
“Pakistan will not develop its relations with the US at the cost of its relationship with China,” Hu Shisheng, Director of the Institute for South Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said.
“For Pakistan, ‘make profits both ways’ economically is a rational choice, but its security and infrastructure lifelines are tied to China closely, and the strategic balance has not tilted,” Wang said.
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Pakistan Balancing US Ties Without Undermining China
General Munir’s trip to Beijing, which followed his rare five-day visit to the US, reaffirmed close military and diplomatic cooperation with China. Experts like Hu Shisheng of CICIR stress that Pakistan’s economic engagement with the US is transactional, while its security and infrastructure lifelines remain firmly tied to Beijing. Jesse Wang adds that Trump’s overtures are “short-term geopolitical noise,” unlikely to break a bond forged through decades of strategic dependence.
Trump’s South Asia Policy Pressurizes India and China Equally
While Trump seeks greater Indian alignment against China through tariff threats, analysts say this reflects frustration over India’s insistence on strategic autonomy. Wang and Hu note that Pakistan’s value to Washington itself depends on its closeness to Beijing and any wedge strategy will fail. For India, Trump’s pressure mirrors his art of the deal approach demanding concessions while still viewing New Delhi as central to containing China’s rise.
He claimed that Trump’s total rejection of the “strategic altruism” reasoning represents a break in the “structural expectations” and a dramatic shift in the “strategic dependence” in bilateral relations between the US and India, which could lead India to reconsider the true worth of its alliance with the US.
