The Chinese media has struck an upbeat note about Premier Li Keqiang’s forthcoming trip to India, the first time a Chinese leader is travelling to India within months of once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
Trade will triumph
In an article published on May 14, 2013, China Daily quoted Fu Xiaoqiang, an expert on South Asian studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, as saying that the Chinese premier’s forthcoming visit to India will map out a relatively specific blueprint for the development of China’s relations with India in the next five to 10 years. China, according to Fu, regards India as a power it can cooperate with, especially in the economic sphere and coordination over international affairs. “Neither of them will let the border issue upset booming trade and relations that have improved over the last couple of decades,” Fu noted. In another article published on May 13, China Daily observed that while the Western media tend to cast the Sino-Indian ties in the light of strategic rivalry, Beijing and New Delhi are arguably showing a greater political will to deepen their reciprocal interaction.
Bolstering mutual trust
A special report by Xinhua, the official news agency of China, published on May 14 says on Li Keqiang’s visit is aimed at boosting bilateral ties by strengthening political mutual trust, expanding economic cooperation and enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges. “Political, economic and cultural cooperation are the three pillars of a sound development of bilateral relations,” it reads.
The China Threat
Global Times, an influential state-owned publication, published an article on May 13, entitled “Border conflict stirs old resentments over ‘incursions’ in Indian media”. Liu Zongyi, a visiting fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes Institute for International Studies, writes in it that since 1993, China and India have signed two agreements and one protocol on the maintenance of peace and tranquillity and confidence-building measures in the border areas, and have set up a working mechanism for consultation and coordination on border affairs. These efforts have helped ensure durable peace and stability in the region.
“There is a very small possibility that China and India will fall into serious conflict. Nevertheless, bilateral relations between China and India are very delicate. As well as the boundary problem, China-Pakistan relations, the Dalai Lama issue, and tension over water resources also hinder the promotion of China-India relations. These problems mean India has a deep-seated distrust of China. With the US “rebalancing” toward the Asia-Pacific, the Sino-Indian relationship is seeing subtle changes these days.” Liu observes that “India doesn’t have the ability to directly confront China yet, and as a country prioritising economic development, India is in need of a peaceful neighbouring environment.” He goes on to state that “within India, the so-called China threat is a trick by Indian political figures to fool their people and Western countries. By making waves about China, Indian politicians can avoid domestic problems, bolster up national morale, and raise votes. And on the international level, India can obtain advanced weaponry and technologies from Western countries.”
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