(TibetanReview.net, May11’25) – Following the May 10 understanding reached between India and Pakistan on cessation of all military actions that had continued for four days, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held phone conversations with India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, giving each assurances that are hard to reconcile with each other. Pakistan is China’s all-weather, iron-clad friend while Beijing is working hard to normalize bilateral ties with India in the wake of its ongoing devastating tariffs war with the USA.
Beijing’s response appeared ambivalent, an act of delicate diplomatic balancing, as it extended equal support to both its two nuclear-armed neighbours, noted indiatoday.in May 11.
To Pakistan’s Dar, Wang has “acknowledged” Pakistan’s “restraint and appreciated its responsible approach under challenging circumstances”. He has reaffirmed that as Pakistan’s “all-weather strategic cooperative partner and iron-clad friend”, Beijing will continue to stand firmly by Islamabad in “upholding its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence”.
However, in his phone conversation with India’s Doval, Wang has condemned the May 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reiterated China’s opposition to all forms of terrorism. India’s sees the terrorist attack as Pakistan-sponsored.
“Wang Yi expressed China’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and its opposition to all forms of terrorism. He noted that, given the current complex and volatile international situation, peace and stability in Asia are hard-won and should be cherished,” a statement from Wang’s office was quoted as saying.
Amid allegations from both the sides of violations of the ceasefire, Beijing has further expressed hope that both sides will remain calm, exercise restraint, resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation, and avoid any further escalation.
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The India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement came after intense diplomatic efforts involving several countries, including China, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. However, New Delhi maintained that the ceasefire understanding was reached through direct negotiations between the two sides, the report said, citing a number of other reports.
Following the ceasefire announcement, Pakistan expressed deep gratitude to China – its closest ally and largest defence partner – for its continued support.
“I want to thank China from the bottom of my heart. I thank the respected President and the people of China who have stood by Pakistan for the past 58 years,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said.
The agreement to halt all military actions by land, air, and sea came after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that had pushed the two nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of full-scale war.
While US President Donald Trump claimed that the truce resulted from American-brokered talks, New Delhi made it clear that the agreement was the outcome of direct bilateral engagement. Officials added that the understanding was reached after Islamabad agreed to the ceasefire “without preconditions, postconditions, or linkages to other issues”, the report said.
Tensions between the two countries had sharply escalated following precision strikes by Indian armed forces on terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), in retaliation for the Apr 22 Pahalgam attack, which had cross-border linkages, the report said.