Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) visit to Eastern Europe and Central Asia is a fresh brush stroke on an emerging portrait of a new diplomacy to extend Beijing's influence, seek new sources of oil and diversify economic risk.
Hu, who doubles as Communist Party chief, left yesterday for a 10-day trip to meet leaders in Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan.
The trip is unlikely to gain the headlines of a summit with the US or Russia, but it offers further evidence of a more assertive diplomacy that emerged in the late 1990s and accelerated under a new leadership headed by Hu since March last year.
"There is a new confidence in China's diplomacy and a belief that China can and should play a more active role on the international stage," said Elizabeth Economy, director of Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
To that end, China is forging deeper ties with more countries and exercising its new-found assertiveness. That means taking the time to visit smaller countries such as those on this trip as well as ensuring a steady and diversified flow of oil and resources, analysts say.
In East Asia, China's interests in improving ties with its neighbors and avoiding turmoil on its borders are more immediate. It has played a major role as host to talks trying to defuse the crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
Europe too is a key focal point.
While trade with Poland, Hungary and Romania is meagre, the EU is poised to surpass Japan soon as China's biggest trading partner. The significance is not lost on the leadership.
Premier Wen Jiabao (
By the time Hu wraps up his trip, the Communist Party's top three leaders -- including Wen and parliament chief Wu Bangguo (吳邦國) -- will have visited more than a dozen European countries -- including Belgium, the UK, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, France and Russia.
Hu's stop in Central Asia high-lights the increasing importance China places on cultivating diplomatic friends in a volatile but resource-rich area.
Oil, of which China is the world's second-biggest importer, after the US, is a driving factor in improving ties with Central Asia. With more than half its crude imports coming from the Middle East, Beijing has been trying to diversify its sources of energy.
Last month, China took the uncharacteristic decision to circulate in the UN Security Council a document called "Iraq run by Iraqis," with strong opinions on future rule of the war-torn country.
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