Air Marshal Nur Khan recently described Communist China as Pakistan’s closest friend and this relationship appears to have been further cemented by President Yahya Khan’s visit to Peking. China is to give Pakistan no less than Rs. 100 crores for its next plan, repayable over 20 years without interest. This is the kind of loan that Pakistan needs in view of its huge external debt which eats up 20 per cent of its exchange earning in debt servicing. The Chinese terms are even more generous than the Russian credit recently promised which is repayable in 12 years. Pakistan has already received a large number of tanks and planes from China and last September, the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Navy went to Peking to ask for warships as well. The communique issued on the conclusion of Mr. Yahya Khan’s five-day visit reaffirmed China’s support for the self-determination of Kashmir and for Pakistan’s stand on the Farakka Barrage. However, the Chinese side expressed the hope that Indo-Pakistan problems would be solved peacefully. It is interesting to observe that there was no reference to China’s criticisms of American and Russian policies and that Pakistani support was invited mainly for the holding of an international conference to discuss a total ban on nuclear weapons.
