ALTHOUGH viewed from one angle, namely the unpopularity of President Musharraf among the public, his taking a trip abroad would sound quite odd, from another his current visit to China has brought into focus some good initiatives that, if taken to their logical conclusion, would further cement the already close ties between the two countries. President Hu's proposals to expand bilateral relations in multifarious fields to give them greater depth, his government's readiness to extend cooperation to Pakistan in setting up four more nuclear power plants and President Musharraf's idea of an Iran-Pakistan-China gas pipeline these projects must be pursued with all due diligence. The Chinese proposals would prove a bulwark against anyone else's hostile intentions against the two and energy-related initiatives would considerably reduce the widening gap between the supply and demand of energy of both Beijing and Islamabad. Hence, their crucial relevance in the current race to acquire energy resources.