'Don't make us choose…'

On June 14, Politico (Belgium) published an interview with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar with many noteworthy contents.

Quốc vụ khanh Bộ Ngoại giao Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar. (Nguồn: EPA/EFE)

Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar. (Source: EPA/EFE)

Commenting on Pakistan’s position in the current US-China tensions, Hina Rabbani Khar stated: “The idea of dividing the world into two blocs makes us really worried. We are very concerned about this division and anything that makes the world more divided.”

On the one hand, Pakistan “has worked closely with the United States and we don’t want that to change,” the diplomat said. On the other hand, Islamabad now maintains a close cooperative relationship with Beijing, which “is normal until people suddenly see China as a threat.”

The view of the Pakistani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs is well-founded, given the country's ties with the US and China.

Even as the US has become increasingly frustrated, even cutting military aid in protest of Pakistan’s one-time alliance with the Taliban, Washington still sees Islamabad as an important military partner. Last year, the US Department of Defense approved a $450 million equipment contract to maintain Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets.

At the same time, China is deepening military cooperation with Pakistan, in a bid to counter India’s influence in South Asia. The contract to build a cruiser between the two countries is a prime example. Chinese investors are increasingly present in Pakistan through projects to build roads, hospitals, high-speed rail systems and energy networks.

Recently, the South Asian country has used Chinese Yuan to pay for Russian crude oil at preferential prices, instead of using USD as before.

However, the slow progress and low efficiency of projects within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) raise many questions.

According to Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, the US remains a unique power, with the ability to “shape the international norms” that Pakistan pursues. Meanwhile, the greatest value that Beijing brings to Islamabad is “an economic model that can lift the country out of poverty.”

In the current context, Pakistan’s economic cooperation with China is dominating. Beijing has affirmed that it will refinance soon after Islamabad repays its $1.3 billion debt in the coming weeks. Earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not reach an agreement with Pakistan at the expert level on a $1.1 billion bailout package to avoid bankruptcy.

However, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar said that neither the US nor China can help Pakistan solve the urgent problem of the Taliban. Now, Pakistan is having difficulty controlling security at the border due to the Taliban's destabilizing behavior. However, she emphasized: "We do not welcome any country to deploy forces to solve the above problem." According to her, diplomacy is the right way to handle this situation.

However, is that enough for Pakistan to solve this conundrum, while also overcoming economic challenges and standing firm in the face of US-China competition?

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