As even US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has appraised the Osama bin Laden killing and the circumstances surrounding it as a humiliation for Pakistan, it was natural for Pakistan to demonstrate that it was not internationally isolated. One step was the visit to Moscow by President Asif Ali Zardari and now a few days later Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has visited Pakistan's "all weather friend" Beijing.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua claimed that China had advised the United States to "respect Pakistan's sovereignty". According to the Indian Express, the Chinese even warned the Americans that an attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China. Such a statement is less impressive than it sounds, because no one expects a US ground or even massive air attack on a nuclear Pakistan and therefore the Chinese will never be called upon to back up the threat.
China promised Pakistan a series of benefits, from help in electricity generation to a squadron of Chinese manufactured JF-17 Thunder fighter-bombers. China will also launch a satellite for Pakistan in August. This was part of Chinese assurances to help Pakistan maintain the strength of its armed forces and an implication that it could step in for the United States as an arms supplier to Pakistan. Obviously, Pakistan could only reciprocate symbolically. by issuing a coin marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the People's Republic of China, for example.
The Pakistani visitor also praised the role of China in the international arena and hoped that China would play an even larger role ""I have no doubt that Chinese sagacity and thought will have a profoundly beneficial impact for the mankind, as a whole. We are happy to see China shape the Twenty First Century world,"
After having been accused of sponsoring terrorism, the Pakistanis were gratified to have China vouch for the country's anti-terrorism pinch credentials. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu remarked, “Pakistan has made very important contributions in international counter-terrorism cooperation as well as rendered great sacrifices…Indeed, Pakistan is a victim of terrorism.”
That statement is on a par with Austria's self-exonerating description of itself as the "first victim of Nazism."
China now has the economic resources that would allow it to replace the United States in terms of foreign assistance. So far, the Chinese have yet to demonstrate a generosity similar to that exhibited by United States, with its far more extensive foreign aid budgets, much of it in grants. China also has a need to portray itself as a developing country, as such a status has provided it a free pass in issues such as global warming and trade practices. If China was now to become a major donor, it would be increasingly difficult to play the role of a developing country.