India, May 13 -- US President Donald Trump's visit to China during May 14-16 is the talk of strategic circles at the moment. This comes at a time when China's "iron brother" Pakistan is playing mediator in the American war against Iran.

The Chinese link in this exercise was apparent, given Pakistan's foreign minister and officials regularly briefed Chinese authorities on progress in the talks, indicating a three-cornered exercise where Beijing sends the signals and Islamabad shakes hands with American dignitaries in public. This might seem a rather curious way for the US to conduct its business in the region, but the fact is that the US has always used "diplomatic bifocals" when dealing with China and Pakistan.

When Pakistan opened six ...