During the recent visit by the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to Beijing, both sides declared a proposal to take forward the ‘all weather friendship’. China and Pakistan have declared that they intend to build a railway line which will connect Khunjerab Pass with Chinese towns including Kashgar. In addition to this both the countries also signed six agreements.

The next year marks the establishment of 60 years of diplomatic relations and Beijing insisted on starting the preparations for celebrations in time. Both sides also agreed to maintain contacts with respect to the reformulation of the United Nations Security Council. In another important development the Chinese military with its Pakistani counterparts undertook a joint anti-terrorism exercise from 1 to 11 July, 2010 at the bordering province of Ningxia. What was surprising is that the Chinese officials did not specify the status of the nuclear cooperation between both the sides.

This move by Beijing becomes interesting when viewed in the context of its domestic development. This step gives Kashgar the status of a special economic zone. This will provide encouragement in the establishment of business and industries in the city. By connecting it to Pakistan, Beijing is also ensuring an easy and direct access to an untapped market. This will definitely boost the status of trade between both the parties. On the other hand, so far, the north western regions of China were underdeveloped as most of the economic development happened along the coastal belt. With this move, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is attempting to prove to the domestic constituency that it is equally committed to the development of the inland provinces as well. The CCP is also worried about the increasing discontent which is brewing among the ethnic minorities. Last year witnessed one of the most severe riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang.  Beijing was also taken aback by the severity of that riot. By giving access to Pakistan, CCP is also hoping to control the Islamist elements in this region. China is using its friend Pakistan to the fullest extent in order to maintain peace and stability within its borders.

After the 2009 violence in Xinjiang Pakistan was seen as praising the methods undertaken by the Chinese government. President Zardari had said that "Pakistan appreciated the fact that the lives and property of Muslims in China are fully protected and their rights including the right to worship fully safeguarded". Pakistan had also played a very crucial role in preventing this issue from being raised in the ‘Organization of the Islamic Conference’. With such a close friend as an Islamic country, CCP may be attempting to smooth the discontent within its borders by making the assimilation stronger. What China needs is a strong Islamic ally as it is believed that most of the Uyghur separatists were earlier trained in madrassas in Pakistan. Now if Pakistan feels that it has a lot to gain both economically and politically by helping Beijing with a peaceful Xinjiang it will definitely help China. This is a situation where both sides have a lot to gain by cooperating with each other.

China will be able to maintain peace and stability within the region of Xinjiang and also be able to peacefully extract resources. Xinjiang is one of the most resource rich regions of China. Pakistan also has a lot to gain from this situation and this opportunity is one which Islamabad will also love to exploit to the fullest. In addition to the promise of the rail link that promises to boost the already fragile Pakistani economy, they have also received a tacit agreement for the supply of a nuclear deal from Beijing, which is on the similar lines of Indo-US nuclear deal. It is a known fact that Pakistani nuclear programme is heavily dependent on the Chinese support. Beijing has constantly provided Islamabad with the required help for the building of nuclear capabilities.

Despite ethnic tensions, China is going ahead and showing an aggressive engagement strategy with the region. This is putting China in a very positive light. Every country in the region is looking forward to engaging China. The most recent entry in this group is Iran. There is news that even Iran is proposing a rail link with China. It appears that this policy is working for Beijing and today the countries of the region want to get a share of the ‘Chinese Pie’. This is where India needs to deliberate over its existing policies more seriously. The question which persist is should India think about the security dynamics and not engage in the existing developments or should we look at the larger benefits and become a part of the proposed rail links in the regions.