Pakistan Between Washington and Beijing

Einar Tangen, International Commentator and Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), said Washington’s push to reclaim Afghanistan’s Bagram air base is less about monitoring Chinese nuclear sites and more about curbing Beijing’s rise. The United States, he argued, has consistently sought to bottle up China, while Beijing has spent more than $1.3 trillion securing alternative energy and trade corridors through the Belt and Road Initiative. He described U.S. overtures in Pakistan, including a proposed $500 million investment in Balochistan, as “spoilers” designed to unsettle China’s flagship China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) rather than genuine development efforts.
Tangen noted that while Pakistan and China emphasize their “iron brotherhood,” questions remain over Islamabad’s outreach to Washington and its ability to safeguard Chinese workers on CPEC projects. He cautioned that Beijing will not accept the loss of its nationals abroad nor be drawn into regional conflicts. At the same time, China views Pakistan’s expanding ties with Saudi Arabia as part of a broader Global South push for independence from Western dominance, he said. India, by contrast, has been left “adrift” after its alignment with the U.S. failed to deliver expected strategic or economic dividends, leaving New Delhi uncertain about its next steps.