A rethink on big-ticket economic engagement under CPEC is underway in Beijing. This impression stems from recent interactions with Chinese regional affairs experts on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India watchers. Until 2015, Beijing never bothered about Pakistan’s internal political dynamics. We deal with the country and not personalities, they used to say. Even the launch of the CPEC as the so-called flagship of President Xi Jinping’s BRI stemmed from Beijing’s unflinching faith in the friendship with Pakistan.

But as things began unfolding under CPEC, China figured out the socio-political realities of Pakistan — accentuated particularly by the ethnic divisions and the consequences of a multi-party system. The CPEC-related roadblocks eventually enforced a deeper study of Pakistan by the Chinese scholars and academia, who meanwhile have a much deeper understanding of the country. Objections by provinces to many CPEC projects and the ascendency of PTI in 2018 to power at the Centre injected a new element into the bilateral relationship.

These conversations with Chinese officials reveal a certain degree of frustration with Pakistan on at least ten counts.

First, the tardy decision-making rooted in the 19th-century elitist and centralised governance regime which is non-responsive to the need for quick, inclusive decision-making and swift implementation.

Second, there is a visible dislike of Pakistani leaders’ propensity to speak more and perform less. Chinese officials and academics hate to hear lofty phrases like........

© The Express Tribune