BEIJING, Dec 5 (AFP) - China's President Jiang Zemin returned to Beijing Thursday after a high-profile trip through Asia involving meetings with US President Bill Clinton and his Indian and Pakistani counterparts.

Jiang, who travelled with Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and Trade Minister Wu Yi, was welcomed back to the capital by all of the nation's top leadership after his "successful" foray, state television said.

The 14-day trip enabled Jiang to stabilise rocky Sino-US ties with the announcement of an exchange in presidential ties through 1997 and 1998 at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the Philippines.

Relations with Manila, which have been strained over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea near to the Philippine coast, also took a turn for the better with friendly meetings with Philippine President Fidel Ramos.

Jiang then put traditionally hostile ties with India onto a new footing, with the first Chinese presidential visit to its populous neighbour and potential rival.

In Pakistan, Jiang confirmed close ties and cooperation between the nations, while denying any illict nuclear cooperation, and he finished with a fleeting trip to Nepal, which borders the troubled Chinese region of Tibet and has long been used by Tibetan refugees escaping to India.