Executive Summary
People have taken the central stage in the practice of modern-day diplomacy. Along with political,
economic and defence relations, diplomacy is now equally focused on culture, relations supporting
People-to-People exchanges. Such exchanges are instrumental in nation-branding and improve the soft
power of the respective countries. As a consequence, city diplomacy, gastro diplomacy, sports
diplomacy, digital diplomacy, spiritual diplomacy has gained recognition in the contemporary discourse
and practice of diplomacy. Pakistan-China relations must also be viewed in the context of growing focus
on the people-centric approach in bilateral relations. The political leadership from both countries has
repeatedly emphasized the importance of people in bilateral relations. As a result, a remarkable surge is
the P-to-P exchanges has been observed in Pakistan-China relations for the past two decades. Keeping
in view the evolution of Pakistan-China relations from an ‘All-Weather Friendship’ to an ‘All Weather
Strategic Cooperative Partnership,’ this study analyses the historical development, the present state of
relations and the future trajectory of bilateral ties especially focusing of P-to-P bilateral relations.
This paper was published in https://admin.bnu.edu.pk/assets/pdf/the-role-of-pakistan-china-people-to-people-relations-in-consolidating-all-weather-friendship-by-bilal-zubairi-694e620a7fc4f.pdf
Dr Bilal Zubair is Director Research at the Center for International Strategic Studies, Islamabad.
