China In Pakistan

The Chinese also have almost exclusive oil exploration rights in Baluchistan, though these were being opposed by a tribal chief named Nawab Akbar Bugti, says Niazi. In 2006 the chief was assassinated, reportedly with the help of a "friendly" country.

There are 10,000 Chinese workers engaged in 120 projects in Pakistan today. In 2007 Chinese investment in Pakistan was valued at $4 billion, a figure that's estimated to grow to $15 billion by 2010. Given the range of multibillion-dollar projects in which different Chinese companies are currently involved, it is safe to assume that Chinese investment in Pakistan has already exceeded $20 billion, says Tarique Niazi. (Even the colorful auto-rickshaws that run on the streets of Lahore and the North West Frontier Province are made in China.)

China-Pakistan strategic relations began in the late 1950s, when then prime minister Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy met with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai in Indonesia for the foundational meeting of the Non Aligned Movement countries. Later Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in his varying capacities as minister of natural resources or of foreign affairs, as well as president and prime minister, tended these relations to their strategic heights, says Niazi.

There was a dramatic growth in relations when the two countries signed their first trade agreement in 1963; a boundary agreement the same year helped China boost its defense of its Uighur autonomous region of Xinjiang on the China-Pakistan border. In 1966 the two countries started construction of the Karakoram Highway, along one of the old silk routes. Another binding factor was a common enemy: India, which during those years had engaged in separate wars with Pakistan and China.

State-owned companies--including Tianjin Zhongbei Harbor Engineering Supervision Corp., China Harbor Engineering Company Group, MCC and the Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting (BGP)--are working on a range of projects in Baluchistan. The Chinese also have almost exclusive oil exploration rights in Baluchistan, though these were being opposed by a tribal chief named Nawab Akbar Bugti, says Niazi. In 2006 the chief was assassinated, reportedly with the help of a "friendly" country.

Another area of heavy Chinese investment is Gwadar Port, where Tianjin Zhongbei Harbor Engineering is working on a $1.6 billion project. Next to the port, the China Harbor Engineering Co. is building an international airport. In the same region, China's Great United Petroleum Holdings is developing a $13 billion oil refinery.