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China has reaffirmed its support for Pakistan’s “national sovereignty and territorial integrity” in the wake of one of the most severe military escalations between India and Pakistan in decades, as tensions mount over Kashmir.
Speaking in Beijing on May 20, 2025, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the declaration during a high-profile meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
The statement came just days after India and Pakistan engaged in their most serious military exchange in over five decades.
The latest crisis erupted in April, when a deadly attack in the Kashmir region claimed the lives of 26 Indians in Pahalgam. India swiftly blamed Pakistan-based armed groups, and accused Islamabad of enabling such infrastructure through military and political support.
On 7 May, India launched an airstrike campaign that struck nine targets deep inside Pakistan, including sites near Lahore and Karachi - far beyond the traditionally contested territory of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan retaliated by claiming the downing of five Indian fighter jets and launched counterstrikes on Indian air bases. While India downplayed these losses and asserted the effectiveness of its air defence systems, satellite imagery confirmed damage to key Pakistani bases, including one near Rawalpindi - close to Pakistan’s nuclear command. By Saturday, both sides had escalated to drone swarms and missile strikes, raising fears of nuclear brinkmanship. A ceasefire was declared by the evening of 11 May, reportedly brokered by the United States.
It is against this backdrop, that Wang Yi lent diplomatic support to Pakistan in Beijing.
His statement follows an increasingly visible pattern of Sino-Pakistani military and political cooperation. Nearly 81% of Pakistan’s military hardware is now sourced from China, and the early days of the conflict saw Pakistani forces deploy Chinese-supplied missile systems and aircraft with notable success, including the alleged downing of five Indian jets. Analysts say joint training with China’s PLA Air Force has sharpened Pakistan’s operational capability and shifted its military doctrine away from NATO-style tactics to Chinese strategies.
