China is playing saviour for Pakistan. This time, with water diplomacy

The Print

21-05-2025

Chinese commentary repeatedly casts India as a hegemonic upstream actor leveraging its geographic position, while China is painted as a saviour, stabilising force, and Pakistan's indispensable partner in achieving water security. One Weibo post declares: 'India is a 'shameless' country with double-standards; on one hand, it fears China using its upstream position, but on the other, uses the same to pressure Pakistan.'
Last week, Chinese media announced that the Chinese-funded Mohmand Hydropower Project in Pakistan had entered its filling phase, a development heavily publicised and framed as a pointed signal to India. Coverage and posts across platforms like Baidu, Weibo, and WeChat present China's expanding role in Pakistan's water infrastructure not as routine cooperation but as a calculated counter to Indian influence . Headlines proclaim , 'China is helping Pakistan crack India's water strategy,' positioning Beijing as a hydropower ally in Pakistan's rivalry with India.
As overt military tensions between India and Pakistan subside, Chinese digital discourse is increasingly casting water as a frontline of strategic competition in the region.
Some commentary goes further, invoking national security rhetoric. A Baidu post warns, India's strike on the Chinese-built Neelum–Jhelum dam opens a new front, one that could internationalise the region's water tensions. India said Pakistan's claims of such an attack are a ''blatant lie'. Victor Gao, vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, remarked that 'water sharing among China, India, and Pakistan must be governed by international and treaty obligations, adding that third-party upstream nations may intervene if downstream flows are threatened.'
The tone on Chinese platforms is often combative. 'Pakistan is no longer afraid of being cut off from India!' posted one Weibo user, citing Chinese-backed dams as strategic shields. Another claimed, 'the war over water escalates! India provoked three times; Pakistan showed off its China-built dam, water crisis is history!' South Asia expert Long Xingchun commented that 'China's intervention was calibrated, supporting Pakistan without provoking open conflict with India. China stepped in this time to pinch the flame and prevent South Asia from blowing up.'
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China's strategic framing
Projects like the Mohmand Dam are not framed as technical endeavours but as symbols of strategic alignment. Built by China Gezhouba Group Corporation, a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation, the dam's progress is widely celebrated in Chinese media and is described as China's commitment to Pakistan's infrastructure and energy resilience. Chinese reports emphasise its expected benefits: Irrigation for 16,700 hectares, annual generation of 2.86 billion kWh, and enhanced flood control and water supply.
One Chinese article posed the question: Have you ever thought a dam could be a shield for national security as well as a power source? It dubbed the Mohmand project Pakistan's 'water freedom guarantee'—a striking example of how hydropower is framed as strategic autonomy.
Chinese discourse around the Mohmand and Diamer–Bhasha dams frequently invoke Balochistan, implying that unrest there is part of a broader strategy to disrupt Chinese investments and derail the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Some posts even claim that India is fuelling separatist sentiment in the region to weaken these infrastructure ventures.
However, a Chinese commentator argues, 'while Pakistan's reliance on the Indus River remains precarious, the situation is gradually improving thanks to its close ties with China. With strong Chinese backing, major water projects like the Diamer Bhasha Dam—often dubbed Pakistan's 'Three Gorges Project'—and the planned Kalabagh Dam are making steady progress.'
Criticism of India is a constant. A post from the South Asian Studies ewsletter, run by young scholars and commentators, asserts: 'India's 'water weapon' strategy is a double-edged sword—one that may exacerbate regional tensions and ultimately harm India's own interests. This notion of 'hydro-hegemony' has become central to how Chinese platforms frame India's water diplomacy.'
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China showcases hydro diplomacy
Ultimately, China is using hydropower to assert soft and hard power in tandem. On social media and in state-run commentary, water infrastructure is depicted not merely as development assistance but as a tool of regional rebalancing. As one Weibo user asked, 'Can China rewrite the pattern of water distribution in South Asia?' Chinese discourse strongly suggests it can—and that it is already doing so.
These narratives portray China not only as Pakistan's all-weather partner but also as a regional power reshaping the region's hydro politics. For Beijing, water diplomacy serves both to bolster Pakistan's defences against Indian influence and to safeguard its investments and interests in the CPEC. For India, the prospect of a two-front challenge has rarely felt more concrete.
Sana Hashmi is fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation. She tweets @sanahashmi1. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)