The three day visit of China's prime minister Wen Jiabao to Pakistan in mid December has elicited the usual trumpets and mutual accolades about the everlasting "friendship" between the two countries that is "deeper than the ocean and warmer than the sun". But it is important to sift propaganda from fact and friendship from interest.
More critically, China's political advice to Pakistan regarding "neighbourhood diplomacy" must be seriously considered if regional strategic balances are to be maintained.
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The propaganda is that China's premier brought along a 200-strong business delegation to sign MOUs worth US$ 35 billion with the public and private sector of Pakistan, creating the impression that a "paradigm change" is underway whereby China is about to replace the West as the biggest "foreign investor" and trading partner of Pakistan.
The fact is that most of th
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