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Vol 1, Issue 1, July-August 2010
EDITOR Prashun Bhaumik EDITORIAL BOARD Abid Hussain Mani Shankar Aiyar P.S. Deodhar Dilip Cherian Amir Ullah Khan Parama Sinha Palit Chen (China) EDITORIAL TEAM Anchit Goel Irfan Alam Sumelika Bhattacharyya Swaralipi Maity DESIGN Manoj Raikwar PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY India China Economic and Cultural Council K-19 (GF), South Extension-II New Delhi- 110049 ADDRESS FOR ALL CORRESPONDENCE India China Economic and Cultural Council K-19 (GF), South Extension-II New Delhi- 110049 Telefax: 011-46550348 PRINTED AT Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd, D-160 B, Sector-7, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Pin-201301 All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
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A Shared Vision India and China are “partners, not rivals” and together must serve as the engines of growth for the 21st century, destined to be the Asian century. This was the vision shared by the two premiers when Prime Minister Manmohan last visited China in January 2008. The Shared Vision document signed by Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing had highlighted the mutual realisation that there was no better alternative to enhancing cooperation between the two big neighbours. Mr Wen’s stress on the point that India and China were “partners, not rivals” had clearly conveyed the required sentiment and desire. Further, China’s support for “India’s aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations, including the Security Council,” was also significant. This reflected the view in Beijing that India had been denied its rightful place in the UN system. In fact, India and China have to learn a lot from each other. If India has to learn from China in areas like infrastructure development and alleviation of poverty, China can gain considerably from India’s success stories in information technology, telecommunications, etc. But they have to find a way to remove misconceptions and prejudices. Dr Manmohan Singh’s idea of promoting people-to-people contact can prove to be the best way to achieve this objective. The two countries must take steps to promote dialogue at the non-governmental level – between intellectuals, art and culture enthusiasts, media people and others interested in knowing the developments in the two countries. The time has come to bridge the “knowledge gap” with a view to creating an atmosphere of goodwill and trust, essential for achieving the objectives incorporated in the vision document. Towards this goal, India-China Chronicle hopes to make its humble contribution. Started as a newsletter four years ago, we have finally come of age and are launching ourselves as a full-fledged magazine with the sole aim of bridging the gaps between the two Asian giants, at all levels. In fact it is going to be the human resource in both countries that we are going to concentrate on to further the “Shared Vision” of Dr Manmohan Singh. Today, Indians form quite a sizeable chunk in China. They are among a new crop of Indians who can play a significant role in any radical transformation in Sino-Indian relations. There are 200 Indian companies now in China: most of them are staffed primarily with Indian personnel. In addition, there are many multinational corporations, which employ people of Indian origin from their headquarters, be it the United States of America or Europe. All these men and women are in constant and continuous contact with the Chinese and are actively engaging them. We must make use of this great resource. China’s acceptance of India’s growing position is an indication that the shoe is beginning to fit the other foot. Also, the current ‘infrastructure’ in South Block for consolidating Sino-Indian relations has never been better. It has a foreign secretary, who earlier served as an effective ambassador in Beijing. In short, the two countries are well poised to take the leap forward. We wish them well!