Pakistan recognized the People’s Republic of China soon after its founding in 1949. Formal diplomatic relations were established on 21 May 1951. Pakistan was among the first Muslim-majority countries to recognize communist China.
In building the Pakistan-China relationship, two personalities played a key role a) Premier Zhou Enlai and b) Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. During the 1955 Bandung Non-Aligned Conference, Pakistan delegation spoke very strongly against China. The Chinese delegation was furious and wanted to respond. Premier Zhou Enlai stopped them and said “Pakistan will be our important alley.” This prophesy became reality very soon. In 1964, Foreign Minister ZA Bhutto undertook his famous visit to China and since then Pakistan-China friendship developed in leaps and bounds.
Pakistan-China relations became closer after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, when both sides found common strategic interests. During the Sino-Indian war, Pakistan felt betrayed by the United State’s open military and logistic support to India despite having no arrangements of agreement. In fact India-USSR had defence pacts and US was making all efforts to encircle USSR and China through a number of defense alliances like SEATO, CENTO and later Regional Cooperation Development (RCD).
In 1963, Pakistan and China signed a border agreement settling the boundary between China’s Xinjiang region and Pakistan.
During the negotiation for the boundary agreement, both China and Pakistan showed exceptional understanding to each other’s sensitivity and concluded a boundary agreement that ideally followed international guidelines for demarcation of international borders.
During 1960s, military and political cooperation expanded steadily.The Chinese military hardware support to Pakistan in post 1965 war further pushed Pakistan towards its northern neighbor.
In mid-196os, Pakistan International Airlines opened the famous “Pearl Route” – the air route from Karachi to Shanghai and Tokyo. At that time, very few airlines operated routes connecting the South Asia-China-Japan. PIA became one of the first non-communist airlines to fly to the People’s Republic of China. It improved trade and diplomatic contact between Pakistan, China, and Japan. Also, It strengthened Pakistan’s relationship with China during a period when many Western-aligned countries had limited contact with Beijing.PIA became an important link between China and the West. Many Chinese leaders regularly travelled by PIA to their destination in Europe, Middle East, US and Africa.
Reportedly, PIA had to pay heavy price to operate this sector. The Boeing disallowed use of its aircrafts sold earlier to Pakistan. PIA then purchased new Boeing, in cash to operate on Pearl Route. Further, it was not allowed to place its Boeing trained personnel and spaces at Beijing (due to sanctions). PIA carried spare engine, two engineers and lot of essential spares on each flight.
There is another very interesting story based on idea of “Mango Diplomacy” between Pakistan and China. President Ayub Khan sent few boxes of mangoes to Mao Zedong without realizing that the Chairman was diabetic and never touched sweets. Mao asked these to be distributed across China. The replicas mangoes, in wax, were carved and sent to all Communist Party Offices across China with inscription “This fruit is mango, best mangoes are produced in Pakistan which is the best friend of China”. Later, mangoes became politically symbolic in China during the Cultural Revolution. In 1968, Mao famously gifted mangoes to workers in Beijing, and the fruit became associated with respect for Mao and revolutionary loyalty. Later, mangoes were use in anti colonial protests with slogans like “Eat Mangoes-Crush Imperialism”. There was a mango song and a cigarette brand also.
In the early 1970s, Pakistan played a major diplomatic role in arranging secret contacts between China and the United States. The Pakistani diplomacy helped facilitate Henry Kissinger’s secret visit to China in 1971, which paved the way for Richard Nixon’s historic visit in 1972.
Pakistan and China cooperated on several military and industrial projects. Pakistan’s experience with western technologies helped both in improving the products. This mutual support resulted in several success stories.
From the 1970s onward, defense cooperation deepened significantly. China became one of Pakistan’s largest defense partners, cooperating in supply and joint manufacture aircraft, tanks, missile, and naval projects. In post 2000, a notable joint project the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft program was completed with great potential for export of this jet. This project which provided Pakistan with a credible replacement of its aging air fleet was realised in record time. A normal aircraft takes about 20 years from concept to actual aeroplane roll-out from production line. In case of JF-17 this time was reduced to just 7 years and they product had very little quality issues unlike India Air Force Teja. The Tejas had hundreds of issue despite passage of many decades. This showed Chinese willingness to provide Pakistan with critical defense capabilities.
Chinese help was critical in Pakistan’s success over India in Marka-e-Haq that happened in May 2025. Chinese J10C air crafts and PL-15 missile provided the punch that knocked out India. But more important than equipment was the strategy that both worked to evolve that baffled Indian air force resulting in the loss of their main air weapon the Raffles.
Economic ties expanded rapidly in the 21st century. In 2015, the two countries launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC includes: a) Roads and motorways, b) Energy projects, c) Gwadar Port development, d) Rail and industrial infrastructure to mention few of the priorities of the $62 billion investment in Pakistan. This generated enough electric power for Pakistan to overcome its perennial load shedding and led to generation of employment in its industrial and agriculture sectors and eased the lives of common Pakistanis.
Gwadar Port became a major symbol of strategic cooperation. China views Gwadar as important for trade access to the Arabian Sea, while Pakistan sees it as a driver of economic growth. Pakistan is trying to entice landlocked Central Asian countries to use CPEC route and Gwadar port for the trade with Middle East, Africa, Asia and beyond. This, if materializes will provide Pakistan with greater role in the regional connectivity. This could also lead to regional peace and harmony.
Currently, with greater coordination, Pakistan and China cooperate in: a) Trade and investment, b) Defense and security, c) Space and technology, d) Education and cultural exchange, e) International-Regional diplomacy to name a few. We are now moving into CPEC-2 with renewed vigor to promote industrial development, economic modernization, agriculture technology, and business.
The people of both the countries are very close and have strong friendship that had with stood the test of time. The change of leadership in either country does not impact growth and development of people-people contacts. They describe the relationship as: “Higher than the mountains, deeper than the oceans, and sweeter than honey” b) “Like Close Relatives and finally c) Iron Brother. Despite international upheavals the friendship is steadfast and has bright future.
The author is
Senior Fellow,
Institute of Business Management,Karachi.
Email: [email protected]
 Premier Zhou Enlai and b) Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.){kind=link}