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I’ll have a longer post at Danger Room imminently about the new Pew poll on Pakistani attitudes (PDF), but one thing quickly caught my eye:
About six-in-ten Pakistanis (59%) see the U.S. as an enemy of their country, down slightly from 64% in 2009. Only 11% now consider the U.S. a partner and 16% say it is neither a partner nor an enemy. By comparison, more than eight-in-ten Pakistanis consider China a partner (84%) and say they have a favorable opinion of the Asian superpower (85%).
To offer an admittedly ignorant question: how much of this is the same sort of hopeful spirit that the world offered the U.S. back during the days of British imperialism? I’ve yet to read all the good recent books assessing the recent Chinese global engagement, but I wonder if it looks better in places like Pakistan because they appear less heavy-handed. But I don’t know; maybe the Chinese have found the positive-sum development formulas that elude us. Still, probably best not to replace one hegemon with another — again — when there’s a world of positive-sum institutionalism that can be built.
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The American part of the equation isn’t hard to understand. Pakistanis don’t give a shit about 9/11 or bin Laden and as far as they’re concerned Afghanistan (and their own country) WAS perfectly stable until the bombs started dropping.
You’re wrong about China though. This is not a case of Pakistan giving China the benefit of the doubt, but the product of years of accumulated good will. The two countries have had a good relationship since the Sino-Indian war, with all outstanding border questions settled. China has a really deep involvement with Pakistan, with small-scale diplomatic tours coupled with substantial military aid/joint exercises and pledges of unconditional support on the Kashmir issue coupled with absolutely no inclination to interfere in Pakistani domestic affairs. If there is a recipe for Pakistani popularity then this is it.
All in all, China is popular in Pakistan because they’ve done a lot of things that are popular with Pakistanis. The fact that Chinese propaganda has done a good job of handling points of contention (i.e. the oppressed Uigher Muslim minority is portrayed as being a Westernized decadent sect of hardly-Muslim boozehounds) certainly doesn’t hurt either.
Oh, they have already gone for Pakistan’s resources. They are so there.
@naelok: China is probably more popular than the Pakistani government. (Interesting post, how do you know about the Chinese portrayal of Uighers?)
Spencer, Colonialism consolidated power among the elites in colonized societies. Americans for various reasons were associated with the end of colonialism and the return of resources, revenues and representation to the non-elites (middle class). Until of course US foreign policy revealed itself as being self-interested and willing to sustain cooperative elites. China will likely experience the same.
Hm I’m afraid I can’t give you a specific link or source for that one Eqbal, as it’s something I know via conversations with certain Pakistanis living up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The gist of the story as it was told to me is that the Uighurs were trying to drum up support when the spirit of Jihad was at its peak during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but this was dampered by a veil of rumours of Uighurs being Westernized decadents with a secular cause rather than oppressed fellow Muslims in need of aid of the Ummah.
It may be presumptuous of me to point the blame for that at China alone, as I’m sure the ISI at the time wanted to keep things smooth with China as they operated in Afghanistan.