Attention will be paid not so much on China's relations with individual Southeast Asian countries, as on the role and importance of the region in China's overall foreign policy. The intention is to highlight certain general themes rather than present a detailed analysis of evolving bilateral relationships. Southeast Asia cannot of course be considered as a unified or homogenous entity. In fact, its special relevance to Chinese foreign policy lies not simply in its proximity to China, but especially in the variety of political systems and diplomatic alignments which it compromises. As a microcosm of the international system, Southeast Asia reflects China's policies and attitudes not only to the regional subsystem but also to the Third World as a whole and to the global balance of power.