Pakistan Pulls Closer to a Reluctant China:
Amid the anti-American rage in Pakistan after the killing of Bin Laden in May, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani flew to China in what was portrayed in the Pakistani news media as a major snub to the United States.
But Mr. Gilani, at least publicly, was unable to coax much out of the Chinese. Trade between the two countries remains anemic — nearly $9 billion, with Pakistan’s share only $1 billion. China’s trade with India exploded from $2.9 billion in 2000 to $61 billion last year.
During the visit, the defense minister, Ahmad Mukhtar, asked China to build a naval base at Gwadar, the port on the Arabian Sea where China completed commercial facilities in 2008.
The request was met with silence. For the moment, China does not see Gwadar as being of much strategic value, several Chinese experts on Pakistan said.
Remember, the Chinese barely think about India. This is a problem for the Pakistanis insofar as the Pakistanis are obsessed with India (and from my minimal personal experience, Indians are obsessed with Pakistan, at least in comparison to how much the Chinese care about India). Whey should China be able to relate when what is marginal and trifling to them (India) looms large for its erstwhile proxy?