During the era of president Jiang Zemin, Beijing believed it was a 'strategic partner' of the United States. That ended when the Bush administration declared it was a 'competitive' - not strategic - relationship. Now, under President Hu Jintao, China may be looking closer to home for strategic partners.
That is what Mr Hu's visit to India last week suggested. Beijing's current diplomacy is driven by a hard-edged pragmatism in the search for resources, markets and money. After decades of political hostility, it seems only logical among Hu administration insiders for the world's largest, and second-largest, populations to come together.
Economically, that process has already begun. There was virtually no China-India trade about two decades ago. This year, bilateral trade hit US$20 billion, and is expected to double to US$40 billion by 2010.
Under China's first communist leaders, developing nations received Beijing's aid and attention for reasons of politics and ideology. During the Jiang administration, the priorities shifted to American and European markets. Now, Mr Hu's administration is reviving China's traditional network of developing-country relations - for their resources and markets.
Pragmatism rules the day. Beijing officials believe that America and Europe are preparing to move against cheap Chinese imports with hidden protectionist measures.
That leaves three alternative markets in view. Southeast Asia is safe ground, but it's already oversaturated with Chinese goods, and offers little growth potential. Africa is a source of resources. South Asia offers the greatest market potential.
China is already India's second-largest trading partner. However, the basket of goods that India offers remains limited. Iron ore accounts for 65 per cent of India's exports to the mainland. Indian entrepreneurs lack confidence to compete with China on any front except software and services.
