CHINESE President Jiang Zemins visit to India is significant in bilateral terms. But it cannot really be detached from his overall South-east Asian and South Asian diplomatic initiatives, in which he toured the Philippines, Pakistan and Nepal too. The South Asian focus in Chinas foreign policy was emphasised in the itinerary itself: he visited three of the seven SAARC countries. At the same time, a certain realism and precision was reflected in the choice of three countries which have borders with Chinaand ties with which impinge directly on Chinas geopolitical interests.