China does not follow a policy of "strategic equilibrium" in South Asia, said a

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commentary in state-run China Daily, which argued that while economic and trade was the "driving force" in ties with India, it was "strategic partnership" that boosted relations with Pakistan.

Analysing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's recent visit to New Delhi and Islamabad, the commentary stressed that China's policy is not to pursue "strategic equilibrium" between India and Pakistan, with Beijing looking at relations between the two neighbours differently.

"It is not China's policy to pursue strategic equilibrium in South Asia," Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, an official think tank, said in an article titled 'Wen's visit benefits South Asia'.

The article did not elaborate, but it was largely interpreted here as a rare attempt by China to state that it would not pursue a policy to balance its relations between India and its close strategic ally Pakistan.

The commentary argues that different factors drive Beijing to improve relations with India while retaining "strategic all weather" relationship with Pakistan.

Wen was in India on a three-day visit from December 15 to promote friendship and expand cooperation between the two countries which has seen comprehensive and rapid progress.

While economic and trade cooperation, emerged as the "driving force" and "stabilising factor" in India-China relations, "strategic partnership between Beijing and Islamabad originated from common geopolitical and strategic interests," it said.

Wen's South Asian trip last week "achieved a wide range of positive results and made people in the two host countries understand the tangible benefits of China's rapid development, it said.

The visit "not only helped China and India create guidelines for a win-win relationship in the coming years but also reinforced the foundation of China's all-weather strategic partnership with Pakistan," it said.

Outlining a host of economic deals and decision by India and China to step up their trade target to USD 100 billion by 2015 during Wen's visit, it argues that "expanding exchanges will help China and India reach the point where both benefit from cooperation and would suffer from and therefore, will avoid – confrontation".

"Ever-growing economic and trade cooperation over the past two decades, following the normalisation of ties, has proven to be bilateral relation's largest driving force and stabilising factor. Shared development will cause mutual interests to trump confrontations," it noted.

“The overlap of their strategic opportunities is also expected to prevent Beijing and New Delhi from moving too close to rivalry,” th commentary said, adding "There is enough space in the world for China and India to pursue greater development through cooperation".