In praise of China: China in the eyes of Pakistani diplomats

• Main Authors: Ngeow, Chow Bing, Mahesar, Pervaiz Ali, Rogers, Roy Anthony
• Format: Article
• Published: Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya 2018
• Subjects: JA Political science (General); JQ Political institutions Asia
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/21134/; https://www.um.edu.my/research-and-community/information-for-researchers/centers-of-research/institute-of-china-studies/publication/international-journal-of-china-studies-(ijcs)

This article reviews the writings on China by four former ambassadors of Pakistan, three of them ambassadors to China. Their writings display a remarkably positive image of China. Although written usually after retirement of their diplomatic service, their views of China have long been shaped when they were in the service. In this sense, these writings portrayed, and indicated, at least among a section of the professional diplomatic corps of Pakistan, how Pakistani elite understand China. In turn, this also reflects, at a wider level, the positive discourse on China among the influential opinion makers in Pakistan. This article adopts the constructivist approach, which gives theoretical importance to ideational factors in the understanding of a country’s foreign policy. Pakistan’s China policy, while on the one hand driven by realist and geopolitical factors, is also shaped by a positive discourse on China, in which this article examines through the writings of several former diplomats of Pakistan.