Media Services Chinese premier on diplomatic offensive Countering recent Russian moves. Zhu Rongji visits Pakistan at the beginning of a maiden South-East Asian tour that takes in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand. In Pakistan he participates in ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Sino-Pakistani diplomatic relations.
China is a major supplier of military equipment to Pakistan, a fellow nuclear power.
The Chinese premier has not included India in the tour, and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is pressing his Chinese counterpart to reconsider. Beijing has been at pains to convince New Delhi that no slight is intended, pointing out that Li Peng, number two in the Chinese heirarchy, visited New Delhi in January 2001. Tensions have eased between China and India, which fought a border war in 1962, but the diplomatic climate remains sensitive.