總的來說，巴基斯坦對中國的外交政策，不僅能滿足國內經濟發展過程需求，在國際層次中更能提升巴基斯坦在南亞國家中的穩定，並且透過反恐議題的外交槓桿，巧妙的增加其他大國的支持，這樣的外交政策行為，符合巴基斯坦的國家利益、也合乎巴基斯坦的外交政策目標。 This thesis defines the Pakistan’s diplomatic policy as “foreign policy of small states,” and chooses the theory of foreign policy of small states to analyze and elucidate Pakistan’s foreign policy behaviors.
Pakistan, given her geopolitical importance, occupies a crucial position in South Asia. Yet as a small state, when dealing with neighboring big states such as China and India, she has to put all international factors into consideration and keep making adjustment along with time as well. Sometimes small state would use her relations with big state as leverage to obtain diplomatic gains; sometimes the tail small states also wag the dog big states. This makes the study of small state foreign policy an interesting one. Analyzing Pakistan-China relations from the Pakistani angle rather than from the Chinese perspective therefore provided us with a new deep insight.
This thesis is divided into three parts: The first part is about Pakistan’s foreign policy in general and her policy toward China in particular. Pakistan’s foreign policy environment and the changes and continuities in her foreign policy were discussed. Part two is the answer to the research topics, and the third part is final reflection on the theories of small state foreign policies.
This thesis concludes that Pakistan’s policy toward China not only satisfied her domestic needs for economic developments, but also provided here with some diplomatic leverages to uplift her international status. It is a successful foreign policy.
