SINO-INDIAN RELATIONS-jul-aug2010

INFOCUS | SINO-INDIAN RELATIONS

Still miles to go… |8| India-China Chronicle

July-August 2010

The two great nations have come a long way over the last two decades, but they have to go further before they can realise the full potential of Sino-Indian relations.

Nirupama Rao

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WENTY YEARS AGO THIS month, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India made a historic visit to China. It was a visit that marked a new beginning in the relations between our two countries – a visit infused by great political vision and farsightedness. It set, in a word, the trend and the tempo for our dialogue and interaction with China over the ensuing two decades. From that pioneering initiative, our bilateral relationship has grown over the years to embrace many dimensions and is now defined as a Strategic Relationship for Peace and Prosperity.

This relationship between India and China - two of the largest developing countries in the world, with populations that account for two-fifths of the world’s total - is a vital and crucial one.

It is not only of relevance and benefit to our two peoples, but also a critical factor for peace and stability in our region and the world. We are fortunate in that mature and far-sighted leadership in

both our countries has recognized the intrinsic strength and validity, and the enormous potential of the India-China equation.

There have been radical shifts and realignments in the terrain of international affairs since December 1988.

The world of the 21st century is increasingly defined by the re-emergence of China and India on the global scene, in roles that are commensurate with their size, their dynamism and potential. And here again, I cannot but help recall how far-seeing the words of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi were as he spoke in Beijing on December 19, 1988. Referring to our two countries he said, and I quote, “We are both responding to emerging challenges and the imperatives of change. We have sought pragmatic answers which are compatible with basic principles, encouraged imaginative new departures which are consistent with fundamental ideological postulates, fostered new thinking which is anchored in deeply held beliefs.”

Twenty years ago, here in the historic city of Beijing, Prime Minister

WHILE WE HAVE MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS IN OUR RELATIONS OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES, LET US NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT WE HAVE MILES TO GO BEFORE WE CAN REALIZE THE COMPLETE POTENTIAL IN THE INDIACHINA RELATIONSHIP. July-August 2010

India-China Chronicle |9|

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi (R) and Indian Foreign Secretary SS Menon witness the signing of an agreement between the two countries

Gandhi referred to his visit as solemnizing a pledge to work for peace among peoples and cooperation among countries. That is still today, the vision that defines our strategic partnership.

It is in the words of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, our mutual obligation to a common humanity.

The template that came to define our relationship after that historic visit has allowed for the active development of our relations in all fields, even as we have worked hard to create a favourable climate and conditions for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary question between our two countries, in the spirit of peaceful co-existence. I believe our two countries have never lost sight of the fundamental principle outlined by Shri Gandhi during his visit – that first and foremost, we must be ever conscious of the role that India and China can play in the changing world, and how we can develop common ground between us as we work together bilaterally, and multilaterally.

The eminent scholar of India-China relationship, Prof Tan Chung speaks of a geo-civilizational paradigm that defines our relationship. Such an equation should, and does, transcend the merely geopolitical and geo-economic dimensions. After all, two thousand years of intellectual exchange and the |10| India-China Chronicle

cross-fertilization of ideas and philosophies between India and China have left their indelible imprint on our two nations. I do not believe that this experience is paralleled anywhere in our region, or globally. As India’s great poet Rabindranath Tagore said of this interaction through history, “The truths that we received when your pilgrims came to us in India and ours to you – that is not lost even now.” There is therefore an ancient pledge, implicit in our past, as Gurudev Tagore said, “To maintain the intercourse of culture and friendship between our people and the people of China.”

Of course, there is no doubt that we must be firmly oriented to the future of our relationship. Today, our dialogue on the boundary question has yielded agreement on guiding principles and political parameters for a settlement of this issue, and our trade and commercial relationship has grown beyond any previous prognostications, with China emerging as India’s largest trading partner, in terms of volume of goods traded. Our dialogue on strategic and security issues, on counter-terrorism, on climate change, on energy security, on food security, on trade and development issues, and many other areas of common concern has grown in strength and substance. As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said, ours is

July-August 2010

a “purposeful engagement” that covers so many dimensions of mutual interest and concern. The starting point for our Shared Vision for the 21st Century is that our relations impinge not only on the welfare of our two peoples but they influence regional and global trends.

Today, the greatest danger to our development comes from religious extremism and from terrorism. The recent tragic events in Mumbai have only strengthened India’s resolve to firmly and relentlessly resist and overcome the threat that terrorism poses to the lives of our citizens. We believe that China also recognizes and is vigilant to this threat. Countering terrorism is a common challenge we face, and this dimension of our dialogue and cooperation must be strengthened as indeed it is being done with all our international partners. It is heartening to note that our military establishments have recently concluded their second counter-terrorism training exercise in Karnataka, the first having been conducted in Yunnan a year ago.

While we have made tremendous progress in our relations over the last two decades, let us not lose sight of the fact that we have miles to go before we can realize the complete potential in the India-China relationship. The conference today, and the deliberations tomorrow, I am sure will cover considerable ground in highlighting issues of interest and mutual concern, and also generate new ideas and suggestions to illuminate the path ahead. It is through this mutual comprehension and understanding that we can build a stronger and even better future for our relations.

I wish to felicitate the CAIFC and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation on this excellent and laudable initiative, and I wish the deliberations all success.

Nirupama Rao is the Foreign Secretary of India.

The above article is part of a speech she delivered as the Indian Ambassador to Beijing at a seminar on China and India in the 21st century