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Impact of Pakistan’s Internal Dynamics on China-Pakistan Cooperation
By Mohmad Waseem Malla, Kazima Zargar
The Issue Brief examines how Pakistan’s internal dynamics impact its cooperation with China, particularly through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), launched in 2015. It traces the evolution of Sino-Pak relations, highlighting their strategic alignment against India and mutual economic interests. CPEC aims to enhance China’s regional access and address Pakistan’s economic woes, but faces challenges like security threats from Baloch and jihadist groups, political instability, corruption, and debt concerns. These issues have led China to scale back investments and push for security involvement, raising sovereignty concerns and straining their “iron-clad” partnership as CPEC 2.0 looms.
