Nepal, June 16 -- Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal followed his customary visit to New Delhi with a routine trip to Beijing. A balancing journey to Washington may not be far behind. Educated in the United States, at the University of Bridgeport and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Khanal brings to diplomacy the polished ease of the global NGO world: Suave, soft-spoken and wrapped in the charming simplicity of development activism. He probably also knows his limitations. On the eve of his departure for Beijing, he said his talks with Chinese leaders would focus on dispelling misperceptions about the RSP government's foreign-policy orientation.

The Indian establishment offered red-carpet treatment to his party chair, Rabi Lamichhane, whi...