ANALYSIS: Sino-Pakistani ties likely to intensify

Andrew Small, an expert on China-Pakistan relations at the German Marshall Fund of the US, agreed.

The Chinese “get what they want out of the relationship already — having Pakistan to provide balance in the region to try to keep India tied down in South Asia rather than becoming a broader Asian or global power,” Small said. “They’re not going to want to be in a position where they end up with Pakistan on their plate to deal with.”