Speaking on India-China relations Dr Yiwei Wang gave a Chinese perception of this relationship. The basic theme was that there was need to look at three T's (Trade, Tibet and Territory) to improve the bilateral relations.
Speaking on India-China relations Dr Yiwei Wang gave a Chinese perception of this relationship. The basic theme was that there was need to look at three T’s (Trade, Tibet and Territory) to improve the bilateral relations.
He pointed out that the volume of bilateral trade between India and China remained very low in comparison to China- Japan and China-US trade. There was therefore a vast scope to improve this. Trade between China- Japan is ten times that of India-China trade.
China’s trade with US is also many times higher than China-India trade. Visa issue is one of the problems that prevent Chinese investors from investing in India. To enhance bilateral trade India should introduce flexibility in issuing visa to Chinese investors, identify the new areas of trade. He suggested that India should also relax visa procedures for Chinese scholars and bureaucrats to let the Chinese people know the true India.
Tibet was a traditional issue, Dr Wang said, but it was no longer a top priority for the Chinese government. He said that if Dalai Lama could give up some principles like opposition to One China policy then there is a lot of space to negotiate. Dalai Lama has two identities one as a political leader and other as a religious leader. China has no problem accepting the identity of Dalai Lama as a religious leader but it will not accept the Dalai Lama as a political leader. Dr. Wang said "earlier we opposed India on traditional Tibet issue but now I hope this issue will not influence the future bilateral relations".
Dr Wang asserted that the most difficult issue for India-China relations was the territorial dispute between the two countries. While stressing the Chinese Government’s intentions to solve this problem peacefully he also added that Twang would be a sensitive issue for Chinese because the 6 th Dalai Lama was born there.
He also said that China had difficulties recognizing the McMahon Line. History and public opinions played a major role in decision regarding border disputes, he noted. During Hu Jintao’s visit to India, there was an opportunity to solve the problem but it was missed. He said that priority order of the Chinese foreign policy has been changed; now the first concern is good relationships with neighbours including India. He also mentioned that Deng Xiaoping had given top priority to improving China-US relations for strategic and economic considerations but from the time of Jiang Zemin and particularly from Hu Jintao’s Presidency, top priority was improving relations with neighbours.
According to him, both countries should work towards a multi-polar world and give priority to economic and social issues. He identified the three poles for multipolar system; first US with NAFTA; second European Union and third the rise of Asia, China and India jointly. He stated that the concept of the ’Sovereignty’ and ’Nation- State’ were Western concepts, and China did not believe in such concepts. He went to say that the US was trying to create anti-China feelings in India and other countries. In this context he expressed misgivings about India’s growing military ties with US and cooperation with Japan and Australia, and even suggested that India should desist. This would impede common interests in Asia and weaken the bond of India-China bilateral cooperation. He added that the ongoing Indo-US negotiations on the civil nuclear deal and Indo-US joint military exercises had had a negative impact in Beijing. He also said that India’s public diplomacy was not adequate and to avoid the misconceptions India clarify and be more transparent about its relations with the US and use Chinese media sources and scholars.
He said that like China and India should follow "People First" policy and should try to seek the real truth. He suggested like China India must follow its own history and cultivate yourself and view the world from own perceptions not from Western.
Commodore Jasjit Singh strongly rebutted many of Dr Wang’s prescriptions for India. He said India had always been against polarisation and even the suggestions that the world should be multi-polar had an air of conflict in it. Instead, it should be multi-centric that truly believed in equality among people. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh asserted that India has always been serious to solve the border dispute and strengthen the bilateral relationships with China but on the other hand, China did not have any substantive reasons to doubt the ongoing Indo-US nuclear deal and India here expects and hope both for the historical traditional friendship and new emerging geopolitical realities that China would support India’s case at the NSG. He said that India did not get support from China for UN Security Council seat while India was in the favour for Chinese membership about fifty years back. In such a situation, how could China expect support from India on every issue? On Tibet issue, he mentioned that India is concerned about 20, 0000 Tibet refugees of third generation residing in India and wanted to resolve this issue as early as possible. He questioned over China’s non proliferation record in Asia. He said that world has been multipolar world from very long time, now there is a need of polycentric world. He assured that India is not been looking to West to solve own problem but needs cooperation from every corners.
Mr. Vivek Bharati favoured enhancing bilateral trade and identified areas like health sector, food processing and pharmaceuticals industries where India and China could work together. There were other areas with great scope for co-operation like space and sea based mineral wealth. India and China could have a serious dialogue on the shape of global financial architecture and the working of the global reserve system, he noted.
India, China and Russia should come closer
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
