China's growing trade and investment partnerships around the world have stirred up debate about the motivations behind the process. Some view it with alarm, arguing that other strategic interests are sure to follow.

Others take a more benign view, saying that China’s growing economic partnerships around the world are purely commercial ventures and nothing more than a search for markets and raw materials, primarily energy and minerals.

This debate hangs over Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ongoing visit to China. News that has come out speaks of “more than 20 agreements” signed between the Pakistani and Chinese leaders, in power and communications and the development of an industrial estate.

Read: Pakistan, China ink 19 agreements on energy, basic infrastructure

But there is also mention of the prime minister’s commitment to “continue to resolutely fight the East Turkestan Islamic Movement terrorist forces” as well as a resolve to “jointly maintain regional peace and stability”, referring specifically to Afghanistan.

Is Pakistan’s deepening relationship with China transactional in nature or strategic? And what objectives is it seeking to advance?

In his trip to India last month, President Xi Jinping signed onto $20bn worth of deals. Across Africa, China’s trade and investment has been growing, centred mostly on energy and minerals but diversifying rapidly to other products as well. In Latin America, Chinese investment touched $11.4bn in 2012, up from $120m in 2004 — a spectacular increase.

China’s overseas investments are growing at a rapid pace worldwide, as is its trade, and the Chinese are building a constantly evolving institutional architecture to manage this growth, with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank being the latest addition.

The process is driven by the growing accumulation of capital in the country that needs profitable avenues for reinvestment.

In Pakistan we tend to bring a needless amount of emotion into our China conversation, if it can be called that. Pakistan is not some special case being nurtured by China for emotional reasons, but simply another place where Chinese capital, backed by state-supported credit on state-supplied terms, is entering in search of profits.

The overwrought rhetoric used in Pakistan to describe the China relationship needs to change towards a more mature and more pragmatic language. In the old days, Pakistan’s place in China’s foreign policy was to serve as a counterfoil to India’s growing military might. In exchange, a few infrastructure projects were provided.

Today, the relationship has grown beyond India to include action against militant groups on Pakistani soil, as well as securing peace in Afghanistan.

Alongside these commitments, a large number of infrastructure projects are being offered, but on terms that are largely commercial, not concessional.

This growing partnership may carry tremendous benefit for Pakistan, but it would be a mistake to view it as brotherly assistance. Instead, our energies should be focused on safeguarding our own economic interests through it, to ensure that we’re not simply exchanging dependence on one great power for another. 

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2014