Like many love affairs, the one between China and Pakistan is made of unrealistic expectations – mostly among Pakistanis – and a hard-nosed pursuit of strategic goals and political and economic objective — mostly by the Chinese. The language of this love affair, however, is such that it raises more expectations than it encourages a sober analysis of the ground realities — “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the sea and sweeter than honey” are the most common phrases to describe this more than six-decade-old “all-weather friendship”.
So it's setting the stage on how things are between the two countries. I'm sure everyone here knows this, but just wanted to quote. I think there's something to think about here. Further on:
[T]he relationship between the two countries has never been a one-sided affair — with Pakistan always asking for something and China always giving that. “It would have been impossible to maintain the relationship if it were entirely one-sided.” Pakistan, he says, has tended to benefit more, mainly because “China has long had the economic, military, diplomatic and technological wherewithal” to extend certain benefits to Pakistan that Islamabad cannot readily reciprocate. “But that hasn’t been out of a spirit of goodwill.” The benefits accruing to Pakistan, says Small, have “corresponded very closely to China’s strategic interests in the region and beyond”.
There is a lot of speculation in the media that promises being made by the Chinese government and businesses for investment in Pakistan, specifically through CPEC and its related projects, are a sort of bribe to make Pakistan do more against ETIM. Senator Sayed does not agree with that. He believes China is already getting unconditional help from Pakistan as far as fighting against terrorism in Xinjiang is concerned. “Why would China throw so much money at Pakistan to get what it already has?
Why indeed. Let's see if people here know what's going on.