Pakistan rolls out the red carpet for China’s prime minister
But the “all-weather strategic co-operative partnership” has hit a rough patch
The suicide bomber’s video message is chilling and direct. “China, your interests are not welcome here. Your investments will be burned, your investments will not be safe,” he warns. On October 6th he struck, ramming an explosives-filled pickup truck into a convoy of Chinese workers outside the airport in Karachi. Two Chinese nationals were killed. The attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist group fighting the Pakistani state—and, increasingly, Chinese interests in Pakistan.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Stormy weather”
From the October 19th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Asia
Can Donald Trump maintain Joe Biden’s network of Asian alliances?
Discipline and creativity will help, but so will China’s actions
What North Korea gains by sending troops to fight for Russia
Resources, technology, experience and a blood-soaked IOU
Is Arkadag the world’s greatest football team?
What could possibly explain the success of a club founded by Turkmenistan’s dictator
After the president’s arrest, what next for South Korea?
Some 3,000 police breached his compound. The country is dangerously divided
India’s Faustian pact with Russia is strengthening
The gamble behind $17bn of fresh deals with the Kremlin on oil and arms
AUKUS enters its fifth year. How is the pact faring?
It has weathered two big political changes. What about Donald Trump’s return?