‘Iron brothers’: How China and Pakistan built an unlikely 75-year bond
Key takeaways
- From secret nuclear exchanges to a key diplomatic deal, Pakistan and China have long helped each other.
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- Pakistan did not possess uncontested sovereignty over the area, and the dispute remains unresolved today.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
From secret nuclear exchanges to a key diplomatic deal, Pakistan and China have long helped each other. What’s next?
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo. A man uses a mobile phone as he rides on a bicycle past a decorated wall depicting Pakistan and China's flags along a road in Lahore, Pakistan, August 30, 2025 [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]By Abid Hussain Published On 21 May 202621 May 2026Islamabad, Pakistan – Nations and empires have fought each other over territory for centuries. In March 1963, Pakistan did something rare: It offered land five times the size of Hong Kong to another country, China.
Under a boundary agreement with Beijing, Pakistan transferred control of the Shaksgam Valley, roughly 5,180 square kilometres (2,000 square miles) in the Karakoram range, territory India considers part of disputed Kashmir.