* China wants US to make Afghanistan into Pakistan's game preserve
* China uses Pakistan to work deals so they can avoid dealing with US in Afghanistan
* China wants US to make Afghanistan peaceful so China business can proceed there without trouble.
(VOA News) Analysts Say Pakistan is Beijing's Window on AfghanistanState and Pentagon, yer middle name is Chump. Pass the soy sauce.
Regional security analysts say a six-day visit by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to China this week - his fifth since stepping into office - highlights the growing ties between the two countries. They say that in addition to providing a hedge against India in the region, Pakistan is Beijing's window on Afghanistan and its strategic interests in the war torn country.
For Pakistan, President Zardari's trip to China seems to be largely focused on drawing Chinese investment to the country.
On Wednesday in Beijing, Mr. Zardari met with Chinese business leaders from industries ranging from banking to defense. The president appealed for Chinese help in developing the country's energy sector and noted that the true potential of business opportunities between the two countries had yet to be realized.
Mr. Zardari and Chinese President Hu Jintao signed six agreements, but details were not made public.
Sumit Ganguly, a political science professor at Indiana University, says that while Islamabad is looking to Beijing to help build up its infrastructure and address its energy needs, China is looking to Pakistan to understand the future of Afghanistan.
"The Pakistanis recently have been talking to the Taliban and have been trying to convince President Karzai to reach an agreement with the Taliban as the U.S. prepares to withdraw in July 2011," he said.
Gangulay says that Pakistan would like to have a government that incorporates the Taliban in Afghanistan because Islamabad believes such a regime would be sympathetic to Pakistani interests.
"Karzai is under considerable pressure from the Pakistan to fold, and the Chinese are curious probably to know how exactly things will play out," he said. ...
Professor Gangulay says that Beijing's close relationship with Islamabad has helped China in Afghanistan and made it possible for the Chinese to avoid working with the U.S. government in any meaningful fashion.
"The Chinese are doing quite well in Afghanistan," he said. "They have managed to get lucrative contracts to extract copper and other mineral resources from Afghanistan. And as long as the Pakistanis have a substantial presence after the American withdrawal, why should they care about our [U.S.] interests?" ...
