China sought to claim some of the credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan brokered by President Donald Trump on Saturday, playing up phone calls made to both sides by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as the conflict escalated to the brink of war.
China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday eagerly quoted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanking the Trump administration for “playing a sincere and constructive role,” but also giving “special mention” to his “very trustworthy and very dear friends” in China.
“I want to extend my gratitude and I have to mention [China], from the bottom of my heart. Seventy-eight years of history of Pakistan, they have always been there in the times when Pakistan needed them and they have never even acknowledged the loss or profit,” Sharif gushed.
The perpetually-simmering conflict between India and Pakistan heated up last month after a brutal terrorist attack on a resort in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir. India blamed the Pakistani government for coddling, and possibly coordinating with, the Pakistan-based terror group that masterminded the slaughter.
When Pakistan did not take swift action against the groups India held responsible, India launched airstrikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan. The Pakistani military returned fire, beginning a series of escalations that seemed ready to explode into a much larger conflict on Saturday, as each side began attacking the others’ military bases.
President Trump announced a “full and immediate” ceasefire on Saturday morning, following a “long night of talks mediated by the United States.” Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were deeply involved in the talks.
India was not pleased with China’s effort to muscle in on credit for the ceasefire. As rumors of ceasefire violations began to spread on Monday morning, India criticized Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for saying Beijing “stands firmly” with Islamabad.
According to a statement released by the Pakistani government, Wang told Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar that Beijing supports “Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence.”
New Delhi gave no impression that it sees China as an honest or neutral broker in the conflict with Pakistan, which is a major client of China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
On Monday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) issued a statement denying rumors that China rushed military supplies to Pakistan as the conflict with India heated up last week.
“The Internet is not beyond the law! Those who produce and spread military-related rumors will be held legally responsible!” the clearly agitated PLA said, threatening Chinese subjects who dared to discuss the rumored emergency military support for Pakistan.
Both Pakistani and U.S. officials claimed Pakistan was able to shoot down Indian warplanes with its Chinese-built J-10 fighters during India’s “Operation Sindoor” airstrikes last Tuesday. Pakistan and India have made strongly conflicting claims about how effective their attacks and counter-attacks were.
Some analysts believe China was growing nervous about how the hardware it sold to Pakistan would perform in a prolonged conflict against the much larger Indian army’s combination of Russian and Western weapons.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that his country has merely “paused” Operation Sindoor, and would “retaliate on its own terms” if terrorist attacks continue to originate from Pakistani territory.
“We will be monitoring every step of Pakistan,” Modi said. “This is not an era of war, but this is not an era of terrorism, either.”
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