In a busy port city along Pakistan’s southwestern coast, a newly built security barrier and hundreds of new checkpoints safeguard Chinese workers.

在巴基斯坦西南海岸一個繁忙的港口城市，新建的安全屏障和數百個新檢查站為中國工人提供保護。

Farther down the Arabian Sea coast, in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, officials added hundreds of police officers to a special unit charged with protecting Chinese-funded development projects. And in the capital, Islamabad, officials created a new police force specifically to protect Chinese nationals.

在南臨阿拉伯海的巴基斯坦最大城市卡拉奇，官員們為一個負責保護中國資助的開發項目的特種部隊增加了數百名人員。在首都伊斯蘭瑪巴德，官員們設立了一支專門保護中國公民的新警隊。

Across Pakistan, authorities are hurrying to bolster security for Chinese workers after a surge in militant violence targeting Chinese-funded megaprojects. The attacks have threatened infrastructure, energy and trade projects that have kept Pakistan’s economy afloat through a dire economic crisis.

巴基斯坦各地針對中國資助的大型項目的武裝暴力事件激增後，當局正在匆忙加強對中國工人的安全保護。襲擊事件已威脅到讓處於嚴重危機中的巴基斯坦經濟得以維持的基礎設施、能源和貿易項目。

That investment in Pakistan, which began in 2015 as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, involves around $60 billion of planned projects. Tens of thousands of Chinese workers are thought to be in Pakistan, though estimates vary widely. Chinese investment has proved critical since support from the United States tapered off after the war in neighboring Afghanistan ended in 2021.

對這些巴基斯坦項目的投資始於2015年，是中國「一帶一路」倡議的一部分，項目總額涉及約600億美元。據說目前在巴基斯坦有數萬名中國工人，不過估算數字各不相同。中國的投資對巴基斯坦至關重要，因為自美國2021年從鄰國阿富汗撤軍以來，美國對巴基斯坦的援助已逐漸減少。

The Chinese-funded projects struggled with security challenges from the start. But over the past three years, as militant groups have resurged across Pakistan and the number of terrorist attacks has soared, Chinese investments — or even just projects perceived to have some connection to China — have become increasingly vulnerable.

中國資助的項目從一開始就面臨著安全挑戰。但在過去三年裡，隨著激進組織在巴基斯坦各地復甦，恐怖襲擊數量激增，中國投資的項目——甚至僅僅是被認為與中國有某種聯繫的項目——已變得越來越易受襲擊。

A series of attacks this spring highlighted that threat. In late March, armed fighters targeted the Chinese-built and operated port in Gwadar along the southwestern coast of the Arabian Sea, killing two Pakistani security officers. Days later, militants attacked the country’s second-largest air base, citing opposition to Chinese investment to extract the region’s resources.

今年春天發生的一系列襲擊事件凸顯了這一威脅。3月底，武裝分子襲擊了阿拉伯海西南海岸中國建造和運營的瓜達爾港，造成兩名巴基斯坦保安警察死亡。幾天後，武裝分子以反對中國投資開採當地資源為由，襲擊了該國第二大空軍基地。

The day after the air base attack, five Chinese workers died after a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden truck into their vehicle. The next month, five Japanese workers were the object of a suicide attack in Karachi after being mistaken for Chinese workers, according to the police. (The Japanese escaped unharmed, but a bystander, who was not a foreigner, was killed.)

空軍基地襲擊事件發生後的第二天，一名自殺式炸彈襲擊者駕駛一輛裝滿炸藥的卡車撞擊一五名中國工人乘坐的車輛，導致五人死亡。次月，五名日本工人在卡拉奇遭到自殺式襲擊，據警方的說法，他們被誤認為是中國工人。（雖然日本工人未受到傷害並逃離了現場，但一名不是外國人的旁觀者遇難。）

“The bottom line is that one of Pakistan’s closest allies and most important donors is now the foreign entity that is the most vulnerable to terrorism in Pakistan,” said Michael Kugelman, the director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.

「關鍵是，巴基斯坦最親密的盟友和最重要的捐助國之一現在是該國最易受到恐怖主義襲擊的外國實體，」威爾遜中心南亞研究所所長麥可·庫格爾曼說。

“Pakistan’s economy is in a very precarious state,” he added. “Islamabad can’t afford to have one of its most critical donors feel that level of vulnerability. The stakes are very high.”

「巴基斯坦的經濟處於非常不穩定的狀態，」他補充道。「伊斯蘭瑪巴德不能讓其最重要的捐助國之一覺得自己如此易受攻擊。這關係到重要利益。」

Already, the security situation appears to have dampened Beijing’s confidence in investing in Pakistan. Last month, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, visited Beijing and met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in an effort to secure an additional $17 billion in funding for energy and infrastructure projects. But the visit ended with no firm pledge for future investments from Beijing.

這種安全局面似乎已削弱了中國政府對在巴基斯坦投資的信心。上個月，巴基斯坦總理夏巴茲·謝里夫訪問北京並會見了中國領導人習近平，為能源和基礎設施項目再爭取170億美元的資金。但在他訪問結束時，中國政府並未對未來的投資做出明確承諾。

There was a “vague promise to enhance economic cooperation, but these outcomes fell short of the substantial agreements Pakistan had hoped for,” said Filippo Boni, an academic specializing in China-Pakistan relations at the Open University in Britain.

有「對加強經濟合作的模糊承諾，但這些結果並沒有達到巴基斯坦所期待的實質性協議」，英國開放大學專門研究中巴關係的學者菲利波·博尼說，

Since the start in 2013 of China’s Belt and Road Initiative — $1 trillion of infrastructure development programs in roughly 70 countries — Pakistan has been the program’s flagship site. Beijing has planned billions of dollars in megaprojects in the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and it has started on several, including the deepwater port in Gwadar.

中國的「一帶一路」倡議始於2013年，已對約70個國家的基礎設施建設項目投資了一萬億美元，巴基斯坦一直是該倡議的旗艦地點。中國政府計劃為所謂的「中巴經濟走廊」投資數十億美元的大型項目，其中有幾個已經開工，包括瓜達爾深水港。

Along the way, China has also lent more and more to Pakistan as the country has faced a major economic downturn, with inflation hitting double digits and joblessness soaring.

在這些項目的同時，隨著巴基斯坦面臨嚴重的經濟衰退，通膨率達到了兩位數，失業率飆升，中國也向該國提供了越來越多的貸款。

For years, the megaprojects have faced security threats from militant groups operating in Pakistan, including the Islamic State affiliate in the region; armed separatists; and the Pakistani Taliban, an ideological twin and ally of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

多年來，這些大型項目一直面臨來自巴基斯坦境內激進組織的威脅，包括伊斯蘭國在該地區的分支、武裝分裂分子，以及巴基斯坦塔利班，後者與阿富汗塔利班有完全相同的意識型態，是其盟友。

Many harbor grievances against China, experts say. The Islamic State and Pakistani Taliban seek revenge for Beijing’s repression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. In recent years, both groups have begun collaborating with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a Uyghur organization that China has long accused of inciting unrest in Xinjiang, according to a United Nations Security Council report released in January.

專家們認為，許多組織對中國心懷不滿。伊斯蘭國和巴基斯坦塔利班尋求報復中國政府鎮壓新疆維吾爾族穆斯林的做法。據聯合國安理會今年1月發布的一份報告，這兩個組織近年來已開始與東突厥斯坦伊斯蘭運動合作，中國長期以來指責該運動煽動新疆動亂。

Others, like the Baluch Liberation Army, an armed separatist group in Baluchistan Province, oppose outsiders — including Pakistan’s central government and China — benefiting from the province’s natural resources.

其他組織，如俾路支省的武裝分裂組織俾路支解放軍，反對外來者（包括巴基斯坦中央政府和中國）從該省的自然資源中獲利。

“They view Chinese development efforts as reinforcing Pakistan’s central government, which they perceive as oppressive,” said Iftikhar Firdous, an expert on armed groups with The Khorasan Diary, an Islamabad-based research platform.

「在他們看來，中國的開發努力會加強巴基斯坦中央政府，而他們認為中央政府壓制人民，」伊夫蒂卡爾·菲爾杜斯說，他是總部設在伊斯蘭瑪巴德的研究平台The Khorasan Diary研究武裝團伙的專家。

Over the past three years, violence from those groups has surged, an increase that many experts attribute to the Taliban seizing power in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials have accused the Taliban government of offering safe haven to some groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, which they say has allowed violence to flourish.

來自這些團體的暴力事件已在過去三年裡激增，許多專家將激增的原因歸於塔利班在阿富汗奪取了政權。巴基斯坦官員指責塔利班政府為某些團伙（如巴基斯坦塔利班）提供庇護，他們聲稱，這導致了暴力事件的猖獗。

The Afghan government has denied those claims, and it has cracked down on other terrorist groups within the country, including the Islamic State. But one result of that was to push militant fighters into Pakistan, experts say.

阿富汗政府已否認了這些說法，並打擊了該國境內的其他恐怖組織，包括伊斯蘭國。但專家們說，那樣做的一個結果是迫使武裝分子進入巴基斯坦。

As violence has rebounded across Pakistan, so, too, have attacks on Chinese workers and projects.

隨著巴基斯坦各地的暴力事件增加，針對中國工人和中國項目的襲擊也在增加。

Seeking to rebuild Beijing’s confidence, in recent months Pakistani authorities have bolstered the ranks of a dedicated security division within the police and military established in 2015 to safeguard Chinese Belt and Road Initiative projects. They have discussed additional fencing around the port in Gwadar, the centerpiece of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

為了恢復中國政府的信心，巴基斯坦當局已在近幾個月裡加強了一個專門安全部門的人員配置，該部門是為保護中國的「一帶一路」項目於2015年在警隊和軍隊內部設立的。他們已討論了在瓜達爾港周圍增設圍欄的問題，瓜達爾港是中巴經濟走廊的核心。

But the country’s law enforcement is already overstretched, officials say. Police and army officers are ill-equipped to confront militants, many of whom are armed with American-made weapons procured from Afghanistan after U.S. troops withdrew. More focus on protecting Chinese nationals could come at the expense of protecting Pakistanis, they warn.

但官員表示，巴基斯坦的執法部門已經不堪重負。警察和部隊在抗擊武裝分子方面裝備不足，許多武裝分子有從美國軍隊撤離阿富汗後獲得的美製武器。官員們警告，把重點放在保護中國公民上，可能會以犧牲巴基斯坦人為代價。

Chinese officials have urged Pakistan to let private Chinese security contractors protect its projects in the country, an idea Pakistani authorities have rejected.

中國官員敦促巴基斯坦允許中國的私營安保承包商保護中國在巴基斯坦的項目，但巴基斯坦當局拒絕了這個建議。

The countries have also been at odds about other approaches to coping with the threat from the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or T.T.P., said Asfandyar Mir, a senior expert at the United States Institute of Peace.

美國��平研究所的高級專家阿斯凡迪亞·米爾稱，中巴兩國在應對巴基斯坦塔利班（又稱巴基斯坦塔利班運動，簡稱TTP）威脅的其他做法上也存在分歧。

Pakistani officials have sought to pressure the Afghan government to act against T.T.P. fighters. At times Pakistan has directly attacked them, officials say, firing airstrikes into Afghanistan and expelling Afghan refugees.

巴基斯坦官員已尋求向阿富汗政府施壓，要求它對TTP武裝分子採取行動。巴基斯坦有時直接打擊TTP武裝分子，官員們說，比如對阿富汗境內發動空襲，驅逐阿富汗難民。

China has taken a more collaborative approach, Mr. Mir said, effectively offering to normalize relations with Afghanistan in the hopes of persuading Taliban officials to negotiate with the T.T.P. on Beijing’s behalf.

中國已採取了更具合作性的方式，米爾說，實際上已提出與阿富汗恢復正常外交關係，希望能說服塔利班官員代表北京與TTP進行談判。

Pakistani officials have faced resistance from their own citizens over the recent increase in security measures for Chinese workers.

巴基斯坦官員們在加強中國工人安全措施的做法上最近遭到了本國公民的反對。

In Gwadar, hundreds of residents have poured into the streets in recent months to protest the government’s digging a trench to separate the compound where the Chinese live from the rest of the city.

瓜達爾的數百名居民在最近幾個月走上街頭，抗議政府挖壕溝，將中國人居住的小區與城市其他地區隔開。

The trench was the latest security measure. Checkpoints line major roads, where every few miles police and army personnel scan identification cards and search vehicles. Hundreds of police and army officers roam the streets. There has been talk of walling off the Chinese-built portion of the city entirely with a new fence.

壕溝是最新的安全措施。主要道路兩旁已設有檢查站，每隔幾公里就有警察和部隊人員掃描身份證，搜查車輛。數百名警察和軍人在街上巡邏。有傳聞稱，將用新圍欄把中國建造的部分與該城完全隔開。

“Living in Gwadar already feels like living in a security zone,” said Mumtaz Hout, 29, a university student. “Now these new trenches, and the talk of future fencing, are further restricting our movement and violating our basic rights.”

「住在瓜達爾住已經讓人感覺像是住在安全隔離區，」29歲的大學生穆姆塔茲·胡特說。「現在，這些新壕溝以及未來設置圍欄的傳聞正在進一步限制我們的行動，侵犯我們的基本權利。」