How many “ironclad” nations, also known as “all-weather” friends, does Beijing have? Chinese media reports suggest that up to 14 countries fall under the “ironclad” category: Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Malta, Namibia, Pakistan, Romania, Serbia, Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Countries such as Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Myanmar and Ukraine could also be part of the list due to their strong historical and political relations with China.

The best-known example is the friendship between China and Pakistan, both of whom have called each other “iron brothers”. Their seven-decade relationship has been built on Beijing’s economic, political, military and nuclear assistance to Islamabad, and both countries’ common distrust towards India. Sino-Pakistan relations are categorised by both sides as an “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership”, and ties developed in the mid-1960s are now being consolidated under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, an initiative to improve infrastructure and connectivity in Pakistan.

Most interestingly, China’s club of “ironclad” friends does not include strategic partners such as Russia. Chinese public sentiment, especially in recent years, still simmer over the “lost territory” in Russia that had once belonged to China. That should tell us something about how far India is from buying peace with China, notwithstanding the informal summits in Wuhan and Chennai. There is just too much history to get to complete resolution of all issues between New Delhi and Beijing. That statement is perhaps iron-clad!