US President Barack Obama's high-profile dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was intended "precisely to dissolve" some concerns over Indo-Pak relations than it marks New Delhi's importance for the US in the 'war against terror', a Chinese official daily has said.

In an opinion piece, People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of Communist Party of China, said the US mainly relies on Pakistan and Afghanistan instead of India in counter-terrorism in South Asia.

"Indian strategists, however come to realise that US hinges on Pakistan and Afghanistan instead of India in counter-terrorism in South Asia, and India's involvement in the US efforts to fight terrorism is devised only to ease of the strained relations between India and Pakistan," the article said.

"As a matter of fact, public opinions however deem that such a vital, high-profile reception of the Indian Prime Minister by Washington was intended precisely to dissolve some concerns for Indian-Pakistan relations," the article said.

It said ever since Obama assumed presidency in late January, Pakistan has occupied a position of crucial importance in the US' South Asia policies, and India fears that it would be turned into a "variable factor" itself in complex geopolitical equations with merely a regional role to play.

However, the article refrained from commenting on Singh's unusual remarks against China during his US visit.

Singh had said India has taken note of "certain amount of assertiveness" by China lately, an apparent reference to its objections over Beijing's provocative steps.

The article noted that the American side has referred to India as an "indispensable" or irreplaceable partner in the fight against terrorism in the South Asian region and or on whether President Obama's new Afghan strategy would pay off.

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