ISLAMABAD -- Even before Gen. Pervez Musharraf embarked Thursday on his trip to China, which will last through Monday, analysts were quick to predict a new phase in the time-tested relationship between the two neighbors.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and Washington's subsequent war on Afghanistan, Pakistan's decision to support the so-called antiterror coalition was bound to influence its relations with China.
In recent years, analysts predicted that bilateral relations between the countries might cool amid Beijing's concerns over Pakistan-backed pan-Islamic activists, not only in Afghanistan, but, more importantly, in areas including China's Xinjiang region.