Gwadar or Beijing's "String of Pearls" Strategy

Not only does China cover a vast area (more than 9.5 million km2), the country has rarely exhibited any expansionist impulses. However, this might change, as Rémi Perelman argues here, because of its growing need for raw materials, and in particular energy, for which it depends heavily on foreign suppliers. In order to strengthen its supply lines, China is establishing footholds abroad, especially in Burma and Pakistan. This diplomatic strategy, which Pentagon experts call the “string of pearls”, indicates the clearsightedness of the Chinese and their readiness to do all they can to safeguard the basis of the country’s economic growth. This new attitude is worrying for the United States, which is doing much the same thing in the region, for similar reasons.