WASHINGTON — 

A new survey on China's global influence shows that Pakistan is most influenced by China.


Cambodia and Singapore came in second and third, respectively. Eight of the ten countries most affected by China are in Asia. Paraguay, North Macedonia, and Albania are the least affected countries.

The 2022 China Index Survey on China's Influence in 82 Countries, published by Taiwan-based Doublethink Lab's China and the World (CITW) network, asked experts to answer questions about China's activities in their countries.

The questions cover nine domains, including media, academics, economics, society, military, law enforcement, technology, domestic policy, and foreign policy.

Some of Beijing's overseas activities include free travel for government officials, student scholarships, journalism training, research grants, trade, investment, and military cooperation.

Puma Shen, president of Taiwan's Democracy Lab, told VOA that the research has given people around the world a sense of how China is reaching out to their country.

He said, "By comparing all these rankings and all the different strategies, all these countries can understand each other, such as how to counter China's influence operations

" Metrics measure impact.

Engagement with China's overseas initiatives allows a country to suffer from Chinese influence, such as economic dependence or other benefits.

Pressure is a direct or indirect action taken by China against a country to change people's behavior.

Effectiveness refers to the degree or actual impact of a country's acceptance of China's demands.

Pakistan ranks first

Pakistan, which is most affected by China, has a rating of 70% on engagement, 10% on stress and 75% on effect. But the report says these percentages "do not represent less than 100% of 'fully affected', but represent the total amount that the country can achieve based on indicators in each area.

" Most active in the military sphere.
Pakistan-China Relations
Experts say Pakistan's top spot in the survey is not surprising.

Pakistan's direct strategic relationship with China has deepened since the United States stepped up efforts to help India counter China's growing ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We can’t decouple and just look at Pakistan and China because to be fair you also look at the US and India working on it too because there are these strategic quadrilaterals,” said Syed Muhammad Ali, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington. People pointed out that Pakistan-China relations have also been strengthened by the cooling of relations between Pakistan and the West, especially in the past 10 years.

Arif Rafiq, president of political risk consulting firm Vizier Consulting, told VOA that China has filled the vacuum left by the West.

Rafiq said, "China has provided Pakistan with goods, materials, and funds that cannot be obtained elsewhere, including military hardware, satellite remote sensing technology, and funds for power plants and infrastructure." protocol. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan imported 72% of its major equipment from China between 2017 and 2021.


The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, launched in 2015, is considered the jewel of Beijing's global Belt and Road Initiative, with about $60 billion invested in infrastructure and energy projects. The two countries also agreed in October to formally launch three new corridors in agriculture, health, and technology, local media reported.


Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center in Washington, said Pakistan's top ranking also showed Beijing's dependence on Pakistan.

Kugelman said, "These results highlight that China's strategic interests require a high level of engagement and influence building with Pakistan."


He pointed out that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor not only allows Pakistan to obtain continued Hong Kong enters the Central Asian market.

China's Soft Power in Pakistan

Beijing also flexes its soft power with initiatives, including Confucius Institutes.


Kugelman said, "China has had to work very hard in the past to build its influence in various sectors of Pakistani society to try to gain Pakistan's trust." The


the report said that critical views of China were excluded from Pakistan's mainstream media, and military officials demanded cooperation with China, Pakistan's purchase of Chinese-made surveillance cameras shows the effect of China's influence.


China, Pakistan, and the United States

But analysts disagree on the long-term social impact of China's presence in Pakistan.

Kugelman worried about a possible increase in anti-democratic actions such as surveillance, but Rafiq said Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies were already engaged in totalitarian behavior and did not need to be inspired by China.

"America has a greater cultural and socioeconomic influence on the country because of Hollywood and the like," said Ali of the Middle East Institute.Madiha Afzal of the Brookings Institution told VOA via email, although The two sides have worked hard to build an "all-weather friendship", and there are still "signs that (Pakistan) is aware of some disadvantages of over-reliance on China and is trying to diversify options, such as courting the United States.

" Choose between.

Pakistan's foreign debt holdings to China account for about 30%. Pakistan was bailed out by the International Monetary Fund this summer to avoid a loan default, despite Beijing providing much of the much-needed funding.


Methodology


Some experts have questioned the methodology used to generate the 2022 China Index.


Tim Ruhlig of the German Institute for Foreign Relations helped compile Sweden's index for the survey. He couldn't tell how "contact" was strong or weak.


To standardize the results, researchers were asked to provide supplemental prompts and evidence of exposure, and Taiwan's Democracy Lab then used its own criteria to accurately analyze the level of exposure, Shen said.