Pakistan is the most influenced by China says report while listing 82 nations

New Delhi, Dec 12: Pakistan is the country most influenced by China, a new study which measures Beijing's expanding global sway said. The China Index, a database that was relaunched on December 8 by Double Think Labs, a Taiwan based research organisation ranked Pakistan on top in a list of 82 countries across the world and said that its links and dependance on China with regard to foreign and domestic policy, technology and the economy make it susceptible to Chinese influence.

Following Pakistan, Cambodia and Singapore are listed at the second spot while Thailand comes third as per the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) report. The Philippines comes at the seventh spot while lies is at the 10th position. Peru and South Korea are both at the fifth spot.

At the eighth and ninth spot are Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. At 10, Germany is the highest ranked when it comes to European countries. The United States and North America are in the 21st position according to the report. The research team while compiling the China index focused on nine categories to monitor the influence around the world, which includes higher education, domestic politics, economic ties, foreign policy, military cooperation, media, cultural links and technology.

The co-founder and CEO of Double Think Labs, Min Hsuan-Wu told RFE/RL that the database has been created to raise awareness about different aspects of China's influence. "A major goal of [of this database] is to raise awareness around the world about the different aspects of Chinese influence and what that can actually look like," Wu said.

"We have taken a much broader and nuanced look at what influence can be, which can tell us more about what Beijing is actually doing and the different ways it can apply pressure," Wu also added.

The fact that Pakistan remains at the top spot is no surprise because it is home to the China-Pakistan Economic corridor Project which is a centre-piece of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative .

China and Pakistan relations have increased in almost all sectors especially in military ties, foreign policy, technology. Shahzeb Jillani, a veteran journalist who helped compile the research hoped that this database would encourage people of Pakistan to evaluate the pros and cons of the country's ties with China.