Andrew Small is a transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC. He run’s GMF’s Asia program, which he established in 2006. His research focuses on Chinese foreign policy, and US / European policy in Asia. He previously worked as the director of the Foreign Policy Centre’s Beijing office; as a visiting fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and was an ESU scholar in the office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. His articles have been published in outlets that include the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Quarterly.
Since the inception of bilateral ties in 1951, China/Pakistan ties have been grounded in a mutually beneficial co-operation. The two countries share a resilient and paradoxical relationship, yet this close friendship is little understood. The China-Pakistan Axis plays a central role in Asia’s geopolitics. China is Pakistan’s great economic hope and its most trusted military partner. From the other side, Pakistan lies at the heart of China’s geostrategic ambitions, from its take-off as a global naval power to its grand plans for a new Silk Road, connecting the energy fields of the Middle East and the markets of Europe to the mega-cities of East Asia. Nevertheless, Pakistan is also the battleground for China’s encounters with Islamic militancy, the country where, more than any other, China’s rise has turned it into a target.
