Li Peng's Visit to India

18 Jan, 2001    ·   452

Sonika Gupta examines Sino-Indian relations in context of Li Peng’s visit to India
Sonika Gupta
The visit of China ’s National People’s Congress Chairman, Mr. Li Peng, to India is essentially a feel good exercise. However, in view of recent tension between the two countries, this exercise is significant. Li Peng has extended Prime Minister Zhu Rongji’s invitation to Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit China . The latter visit may result in the  signing of an agreement on areas of mutual cooperation. Li Peng’s visit is returning President’s Narayanan’s good will visit to China last year, testing the waters before getting down to the brass tacks.

 

 

Li Peng is one of the most powerful Chinese leaders and a hardliner of the Chinese Communist Party. His visit to India is a clear statement of that the Pokharan tests and Mr. Fernandes’ statement following the tests declaring China as India’s enemy number one, are no longer an issue with Beijing. This is also borne out by the Chinese Defence White paper issued in 2000 which does not list India among China ’s security concerns. The White Paper mentions Sikkim being part of the boundary dispute between India and China , while claiming to be aggrieved in the dispute.  

 

 

Amidst the bonhomie of Li Peng’s visit, General Padmanabhan’s statement about Chinese activities along the LAC sounds a cautionary note for India . According to General Padmanabhan the Indian and Chinese definitions of the LAC are poles apart. This contradiction underlies all strategic interactions between the two countries. In India , the 1962 hostilities are still an issue whereas the Chinese do not factor this into their declared intention to “evolve trust” between the two countries. Secondly China ’s consistent refusal to admit to providing nuclear and missile assistance to Pakistan hampers the building of trust. The Chinese declaration on missile exports is a positive step in addressing this particular issue, but its impact has yet to be felt in the strategic calculations of India . This mistrust has, in recent times, been compounded by the fear in Indian industry of being put out of business by cheap Chinese imports.

 

 

The positive aspect of Sino-Indian relations is that neither India nor China foresee a war and agree on a peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues. The recent meeting between Li Peng and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee reiterated that their common interests far outweigh their differences. China in its White Paper on defence has earlier stated this. 

 

 

Cooperation between India and China in the international arena is based on these common interests. India and China have a history of voting similarly in the UN on international issues, with the exception of South Asian issues.  Post Cold War both countries are against unipolar politics and favor a multipolar or polycentric world order. Today, the most significant international forum in which the two countries can cooperate is the World Trade Organisation. Being large developing countries, India and China can y provide united leadership to the rest of the developing world and increase  bargaining position in the WTO.  WTO labour polices are one such area of common interest between  India and China .  

 

 

On the bilateral front, as the Chairman of CII’s National Tourism Committee has argued, tourism is a potential area of cooperation between the two countries. According to CII statistics, tourism from neighbouring countries provides tourist flow into any country. However, this is next to negligible between China and India . Given the vast potential for jointly managed tourist ventures, like opening the old
Silk Route
 and pilgrimage routes to Tibet , this is one area of activity that can accrue mutual benefits. While discussing modalities for “evolving trust” between the two countries, it must be kept in mind that people to people exchange, especially within a commercial framework, like tourism, will speed up the process of building mutual trust and cooperation.

 

 

A new variable has been recently added to Sino-Indian relations by India ’s “Look East” Policy. India is seeking military relations with the countries of Indo-China and South East Asia , which is not likely to go down well with the Chinese. In fact China has mentioned joint military exercises in the region as a cause for concern in its White paper. The “Look East” policy is still in its infancy and is not likely to have any immediate impact on the core concerns of Sino-Indian relations. 

 

 

 

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