ABSTRACT
China's relations with South Asia share some common characteristics with Central Asia: a region that is historically defined by the imperialism of an external power whose inheritors continue to see it as "their" region. China's security relations with New Delhi may have improved only moderately in the 21st century, but its economic relations with India and the rest of the South Asian region have shown dramatic improvement. China's sole remaining significant land-based territorial dispute with its neighbors is with India. China has not sold military equipment to India, but regular military exchanges do occur. It would be no exaggeration to say that Pakistan is China's best neighbor: the relationship has been stable, useful for both sides, and has few irritants. For China, relations with Bangladesh come at a cost to its other foreign relations: clearly India is constantly concerned about Chinese activities with its neighbors. China in turn has rewarded Nepal with a number of foreign aid projects.
