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Why Pakistan Is the Secret to China’s Global Ambitions (And No One Wants to Talk About It)
Look. Everyone keeps yelling about China this, China that-China’s buying Africa, China’s building ports in Sri Lanka, China’s in bed with Russia, China’s invading your supply chain. Fine. True-ish. But you know what they’re not talking about?
Pakistan.
Yeah. That Pakistan. The one the West mostly ignores unless there’s a drone strike, a cricket match, or an IMF headline that sounds like a rerun. But if you really want to understand how China is elbowing its way into the global top seat, you gotta start with Islamabad-not Shanghai.
Why? Because this scrappy, nuclear-armed, economically messy neighbor is the launchpad. The blueprint. The flagship.
Ever heard of CPEC? That’s China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, for the acronym-challenged. It’s not just a road. It’s the road. As in, the road that ties up the Belt and Road Initiative with a nice little bow, plopped right at the edge of the Arabian Sea. Gwadar Port, baby. China’s golden ticket to the Indian Ocean-and a middle finger to chokepoint-obsessed Western naval strategists still playing Risk.
China’s investing tens of billions in Pakistan. Not because they love mangoes or appreciate the poetry of Faiz. Nope. Because Pakistan is geography on…
