The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia's New Geopolitics

The Beijing-Islamabad axis plays a central role in Asia's geopolitics, from India's rise to the prospects for a post-American Afghanistan, from the threat of nuclear terrorism to the continent's new map of mines, ports and pipelines. China is Pakistan's great economic hope and its most trusted military partner; Pakistan is the battleground for China's encounters with Islamic militancy and the heart of its efforts to counter-balance the emerging US-India partnership. For decades, each country has been the other's only 'all-weather' friend. Yet the relationship is still little understood. The wildest claims about it are widely believed, while many of its most dramatic developments are hid- den from the public eye. This book sets out the recent history of Sino-Pakistani ties and their ramifications for the West, for India, for Afghanistan, and for Asia as a whole. It tells the stories behind some of its most sensitive aspects, including Beijing's support for Pakistan's nuclear program, China's dealings with the Taliban, and the Chinese military's planning for crises in Pakistan.It describes a relationship increasingly shaped by Pakistan's internal strife, and the dilemmas China faces between the need for regional stability and the imperative for strategic competition with India and the USA.

About the Author :
Andrew Small has researched Chinese foreign and economic policy issues in Beijing, Brussels, London, and now Washington, D.C. He is a Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Review :
'...an excellent book.' 'An original and timely contribution to this unusual relationship, never formalized in an alliance as it faces the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan' 'An impressive account of a little-understood friendship' 'Exceptionally well-informed and insightful account' 'Small has illuminated the complementary calculations in Beijing and Islamabad which nurture this fascinating relationship, through a painstaking survey of numerous, diverse sources, coupled with extensive interviews throughout southern Asia. Small brings to bear not only copious research but analytic subtlety that makes this book both a joy to read and a veritable "keeper".' 'Small has written a valuable and perceptive book.' 'This unique and timely work provides fresh insights into one of the most important and most neglected new developments in world affairs - China's turn to south and west Asia. As the U.S. pivots toward (East) Asia, Andrew Small shows us how China is moving beyond traditional concepts of Asia.' 'Andrew Small's remarkable book paints a vivid picture of twenty-first century geopolitics by uncovering one of the most important and under-explored relationships. A gripping narrative of how China's rise meets nukes, terrorists and the Taliban' 'The China-Pakistan Axis explores one of the most resilient and paradoxical bilateral relations of the post colonial era - a superb illustration of the manner in which international relations can be determined by power considerations. Pakistan and China have been "all weather friends" for more than fifty years in spite of their ideological differences. Andrew Small shows that their rapprochement resulted mostly from a real politik assessment of their common enemy, India, but that non material variables are back in the picture today because of the Islamist connection in the case of the Uighurs, for example. The strength of Small's work lies in its analysis of the fascinating scope and trajectory of the Beijing - Islamabad relationship.'