Dili, in East Timor looks like a pleasant place to conduct affairs of state: a broad, palm-fringed compound by the side of the sea with reflecting pools, a rock garden and fluttering flags.

It is the future Foreign Ministry of East Timor, as depicted on a larger bill board, at the gate of a construction site which is a gift from the Chinese government. Together with a new presidential palace that is also being built by the Chinese, it will be one of the most impressive buildings in this low-rise capital.

The projects are the most visible sign of a growing Chinese presence in this threadbare little country with few natural resources and only marginal geographical advantages to tempt a great power.

“The Chinese government thinks that as good partners, good neighbours and good friends of Timor-Leste, we are obliged to give a helping hand,” said the Chinese ambassador, Su Jian, in an interview, using the country's official name.

The strategy
China’s friendly stance is part of a broad diplomatic and economic policy throughout the region to which some people give the gentle description “soft power.” Most analysts say East Timor seems to be of interest less as a prize in its own right than as a natural extension of China’s energetic courtship of its neighbours in Southeast Asia.

On the hunt for natural resources and working to create a friendly neighbourhood as it develops its own economy, China for the past decade has been creating a web of bilateral and multilateral partnerships that bind its neighbours to it.

Beijing plays down any self-interest as it increases trade and aid throughout Southeast Asia.

“In a region where there is a historic fear of China, they are promoting the idea that China is a friendly partner,” said Joshua Kurlantzick, author of a new book Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World.

In the longer term, some analysts say, China may want to create its own sphere of influence, elbowing aside the US in the region. Washington’s preoccupation today with wars and terrorist threats has left inviting openings for China’s advances in Southeast Asia.

“They have been expanding their influence and building their links to governments in a very careful, sophisticated way,” said Daljit Singh, a regional policy analyst in Singapore.

“They are aware that in the past there was a good deal of suspicion of China, and their soft approach is designed to appease, to increase their footprint and their influence through trade agreements, free trade offers, strategic partnerships.”

Leading trade partner
China is the leading trading partner and investor in the region and wields considerable political influence. It recently stepped directly into America’s sphere of influence with giant projects in the Philippines, including an aqueduct and major highways. East Timor, in its very small way, is part of this picture as China cultivates relationships with the poorer nations of Asia and the Pacific. China was the first nation to recognise the country when it became an independent state in 2002.

China is building barracks and providing uniforms for the country’s small military, bringing in medical teams and police officers, training civil servants and farmers, and inviting students and official delegations to Beijing.

“China’s experience is very rich in helping small and developing countries in Africa,” said Su, who has served in four previous Portuguese-speaking postings, including Angola and Guinea-Bissau.

China’s emerging presence in a country whose dominant players at the moment are Portugal and Australia has caused speculation among local analysts and in the regional press. However the ambassador displayed amusement at the idea that China could have larger ambitions in this area.