China calls Pakistan its 'ironclad friend' as Ishaq Dar admits use of Chinese jets against India

Days after the announcement of ceasefire between India and Pakistan, China on Tuesday said it supports Islamabad in defending "national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China welcomed the two countries "handling differences through dialogue" as he met his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing.

Wang called Pakistan an "ironclad friend" and vowed to deepen the "all-weather strategic cooperative partnership" between the two countries, a readout from China's foreign ministry said.

The timing of China’s remarks is significant, coming closely on the heels of the ceasefire and amid heightened military posturing in the region. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Dar confirmed that Islamabad had deployed Chinese-made fighter jets during recent tensions with India, underscoring China’s role as Pakistan’s top arms supplier.

Notably, a day after Indian armed forces dismantled terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK with precision strikes, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian had said he had no knowledge of reports suggesting involvement of Chinese jets after India hit hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK.

Beijing had also called Operation Sindoor of the Indian armed forces "regrettable", and said it supported an impartial investigation into the Pahalgam terror attack.

The ceasefire between India and Pakistan has exposed China’s strategic tightrope—balancing its deep investments in Pakistan’s CPEC with growing trade ties to India, even as the India-backed IMEC emerges as a formidable counter to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Introduced in 2013, CPEC was initially touted as the flagship project of China’s BRI, with Beijing generously bankrolling the corridor despite India viewing it as a violation of its territorial sovereignty, given New Delhi’s stance on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

While China is an unwavering ally to Pakistan, experts point out that even Beijing would not want an all-out war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours as it risks its investments in Islamabad as well as robust trade ties with India.