Wen ends his trip to Pakistan on a high note with deals worth US$ 24 billion in his pocket and a renewed pledged of friendship between the two countries. Before Pakistan, he was in India, but here shared economic interests might not be enough to sway New Delhi on other issues.

Islamabad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Wen Jiabao’s three-day visit to Pakistan ended yesterday. The two countries signed agreements worth dozens of billions of dollars. They also reasserted their long-standing friendship and cooperation. However, Wen’s trip to Pakistan and India also showed all the limits of state-to-state relations based only on economy interests.

Wen came to the two south Asian nations at the helm of a delegation that included hundreds of business people and government officials.

In Pakistan, China signed 36 agreements worth US$ 14 billion. Businesses from the two countries agreed to deals worth another US$ 10 billion.

Beijing is also donating US$ 229 million to help with reconstruction after the devastating floods Pakistan suffered earlier this summer.

China remains Pakistan’s main Asian partner and desperately needs foreign investments to create jobs and promote development for its 175 million people.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is up from US$ 1 billion in 2000 to some US$ 7 billion now.

On his arrival in Islamabad, the Chinese leader received the full red carpet treatment. The city was decked out for special occasions, with huge posters bearing Wen’s picture and slogans such as "Family" and "Building the Future Together" dotting major roads in the Pakistani capital.

During the visit, Wen and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani inaugurated the new Pakistan-China Friendship Centre.

In a speech before the Pakistani parliament, Wen reiterated the two nations’ strong ties and praised Islamabad for its fight against international terrorism and al-Qaeda, reminding the international community that Pakistan needs help.

However, for a number of experts, what Beijing really wants from Islamabad is help in cracking down on ethnic Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, whom Beijing accuses of terrorism, by keeping its borders closed and sending back anyone who tries to flee.

Other experts note that Chinese friendship comes at a heavy price. Not only Beijing is getting cheap metals and raw materials from Pakistan but it is also flooding the Pakistani market with its own cheap goods. Moreover, China is trying to get its partner to agree to a free trade that would favour especially its own goods.

Yet Islamabad needs Chinese capital and technology. The Chinese have already built a modern port in Gwadar and plan a rail link that would reach it crossing Pakistan’s high mountains.

Despite complaints from India and the United States, China is also Pakistan’s main suppliers of weapons and nuclear technology.

“China's massive investment at this time proves two things,” namely “that China is a genuine ally of Pakistan,” and that “if the US supports India against China, China will support Pakistan,” analyst Hamayoun Khan said.

Compared to US$ 25 billion worth in deals with pakistan, Wen signed in fact “only” US$ 16 billion in India.

China’s pocketbook diplomacy has major limits, which were most visible in India. Despite several important trade deals, the two failed to address many of the outstanding political issues that divide them.

Wen's charm offensive and his repeated emphasis on the two countries being "friends, not rivals" did not solve their differences on a range of issues, ranging from borders (between Pakistan and India over Jammu-Kashmir and China and India over Arunachal Pradesh) to Maoist terrorism in India (which some blame on Beijing).

On the long run, India’s desire for economic development will not be enough for New Delhi to give up on important issues so that relations between the two countries will continue to reflect that divide.

The first test will come soon as New Delhi has never hidden its desire to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Four of the five members, namely the United States, France, United Kingdom and Russia, have already expressed their support; the only holdout is China.

Growing economic ties might thus not be enough to offset Beijing’s ambivalence over the matter.

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