China's economic surge into Pakistan comes at a time of heightened stakes in South Asia. Pakistan is in a deteriorating stalemate with its existential foe India, which has far greater conventional military and economic capabilities. Yet India faces a widening conventional arms deficit with China, whose economy has grown for nearly four decades far faster than India's has. With an eye toward fostering potential like-minded partners in a new era of great power competition, the United States has attempted to build a stronger partnership with India. At the same time, Washington continues to rely on Islamabad for access to Afghanistan. China's position remains flexible in the region, pursuing expansive trade and economic relations with India, embarking on growing investments in Pakistan through CPEC and across the broader region, while also investing in enhanced military capabilities that will eventually enable China to act on its growing ambitions in the Indian Ocean region. China's economic surge into Pakistan is an opportunity to test the proposition of whether Beijing can translate its growing wealth into growing political authority and security influence in the region.
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Description based on online resource; title from PDF caption (USIP, viewed December 21, 2020).
