Pakistan's seasoned diplomacy recently helped it stave off a prolonged military engagement in Yemen without offending its mentor, Saudi Arabia. Long experience has also taught Pakistan the value of patience. It twiddled its thumbs when the then new president of China, a long-time friend, bypassed it and went to visit India instead, and even ignored an invitation to Pakistan's National Day parade last month. The wait has been well worth it. Xi Jinping, China's president, on his two-day visit, seems to have made it up to Pakistan with his announcement of $28 billion to be invested in the development of the Pakistan-China economic corridor, together with help with infrastructure and the setting up of nuclear reactors. On its part, Pakistan is said to have agreed to buy Chinese submarines and give China a 40-year lease of the Gwadar port to trade or house ships and submarines. China may have been stingy with aid all along, but it has never really shrunk away from using Pakistan as an investment destination. As a geo-political strategy, this has worked because it saved China its money while making Pakistan feel wanted during the many times it found itself the target of international censure. Their friendship also managed to keep India, a common foe, on its toes and warded off an overbearing America. It is no different this time. Energized by Mr Jinping's vision to connect China to Eurasia and central Asia through the corridors of Afghanistan and Pakistan, China has already got to work. In February, it formally launched the China-Pakistan-Afghanistan strategic dialogue to help turbulent Afghanistan find peace and become more investor-friendly. The Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral dialogue has gathered pace as a result. China's reaching out to Pakistan is another arm of this programme. It is also reaching out beyond Pakistan - to Iran, for example. The idea is to bring a larger landmass into an economy led and driven by China.

India can jolly well be a part of this giant eco(nomic)-system. But it finds itself horribly undercut by Pakistan, which wants it out. China, which has been Pakistan's all-weather friend, has been obliging because it wants Pakistan to deliver, both on the economic and the security front. But too much dependence is always bad. When Narendra Modi visits China next month, he has to convince China about the efficacy of keeping its options with India open.