Boost in Sino-Indian ties, China's concerns over N-deal remain

Beijing, (PTI): India and China added more depth to their nascent strategic relations and sought to lend greater momentum to resolving the festering boundary row in 2007, a year that saw a new Chinese leadership, but the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal remained a concern to Beijing.

The two Asian giants took steady steps holding a series of dialogue on the boundary row, while expanding their relations both in scope and content through high-level visits, trade and economy, culture and education in pursuit of good neighbourliness.

As China saw the new lineup of leadership that would shape the destiny of the Communist giant for the next five years, UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, became the first foreign leader to visit Beijing soon after it in a high point of bilateral relations during the year.

High expectations were also built around the planned China visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give a further push to bilateral ties, but it did not materialise as 2007 rolled by. His visit is now expected to take place in January.

India inking the landmark nuclear deal with the US became a prickly issue for China which did not speak in so many terms openly against it, but nonetheless left none in doubt about its reservations over the agreement and watched with interest the heat generated by it in India, specially the opposition from the Left parties.

China has said the US and India should address the concerns of the international community on their nuclear deal while acknowledging that both countries can cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The deal has come under pointed attack of the official media, including the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) mouthpiece, the People's Daily which have repeatedly flayed it saying it amounted to "double standards" and would undermine global non-proliferation efforts.

Interestingly, the state media, in a departure from the past, even went beyond expressing opposition to predict that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government may not last long in view of the opposition to the deal from Left parties.

As the year draws to a close, both the countries are poised to hold a joint military exercise next week going beyond the usual bonhomie meetings along the tranquil Sino-Indian Himalayan border.

In their quest to find a solution to the boundary issue within the agreement on political parameters and guiding principles, Special Representatives of the two countries held the 11th round of talks in Beijing in September and the next round would also be held here in the near future ahead of the Prime Minister's visit.

In a flurry of diplomatic activities, India's Foreign Secretary, Shivashankar Menon, was in Beijing as also National Security Adviser and India's Special Representative, M K Narayanan, for the boundary talks, besides which the Foreign Ministers of both have also had meetings during the year.

As the two nations maintained a positive momentum in their relations, Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, said solutions could be found to "outstanding issues," including the boundary row, if both sides demonstrate sincerity and patience and uphold the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit and mutual understanding.

"Undeniably there are some outstanding issues between China and India," Wen told PTI here.

"I believe that as long as the two sides demonstrate sincerity and patience and uphold the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit and mutual understanding, we are bound to find solutions to this issue," Wen said.

India and China appointed special representatives in June 2003 to address the border issue from a political perspective of the overall bilateral relations. A formal ceasefire line was never established after the Sino-India war in 1962, but the border has remained mostly peaceful.

India says China is illegally occupying 43,180 sq. kms of Jammu and Kashmir including 5,180 sq km illegally ceded to Beijing by Islamabad. China accuses India of possessing some 90,000 sq km of Chinese territory, mostly in Arunachal Pradesh.

Adding political weight to the efforts to inject greater momentum to bilateral ties, Sonia Gandhi made a significant visit to China in October as the Communist nation rolled out the red carpet to her, symbolising the new Chinese leadership's commitment to friendly relations with India and even to upgrade it to a higher level.

Gandhi's trip came just a week after Chinese President Hu Jintao was fresh from securing a second term as the General Secretary of the ruling CPC and, therefore, the President to guide the country's destiny for another five years from early next year.

After months of backroom politicking, the core of Chinese leadership was unveiled at the end of the CPC's 17th National Congress, the most important political event held once in five years.

After Gandhi's high-profile meetings with Hu and the Chinese Premier, both countries reached a "consensus" on upgrading their bilateral relations to a strategic level which would change Asia and the world in a "profound way".

In the midst of earnest and accelerated efforts to improve bilateral relations, there were also occasional jarring notes during the year.

Beijing refused to grant visa to an Indian Administrative Service official from Arunachal Pradesh, which China always claims as its territory.

In another development, China also appeared none too happy with India, the US, Japan and Australia trying to forge a quadripartite format, and advised the four countries not to go against the global trend and be "open and inclusive."

India was also concerned over China using a ground-based missile to kill its own satellite, as the move raised global fears about an arms race in outer space.

China, however, reassured India that its anti-satellite test did not target any country but, at the same time, asserted that the experiment did not violate any international treaty.

In important positive developments, China and India decided to establish a 'hotline' between the two Foreign Ministers, open Consulate Generals in Kolkata and Guangzhou respectively, establish a Tourism Office in New Delhi and Beijing. The Tourism Office in New Delhi has been opened and the one in Beijing will start early next year.

Activities for the China-India Friendship Year Through Tourism were also launched during the year.

In May, then Chief of Indian Army Gen J J Singh visited China to deepen the military ties between the two armies.

Reflecting their mutual desire to act in tandem on issues of common concern, India and China also decided to work together for a greater say in the management of international financial institutions, including the World Bank and IMF, as the two Asian giants decided to further reinforce cooperation in the fiscal and financial fields.

The second China-India Financial Dialogue held in Beijing in December pledged in a joint statement to draw on each other's development experience and add more muscle to their combined efforts in financial and fiscal fields.

The China juggernaut continued to roll on, as its economy was poised for a double-digit growth for the fifth consecutive year, but it also fuelled fears of overheating.

As its trade surplus ballooned with the US and the EU, China also came under pressure to take corrective steps to tackle trade imbalances and to let its currency Yuan appreciate rapidly.

For China, 2007 also saw its image as the "world's factory" take a beating as millions of its toys were recalled over safety scares but moving quickly to contain the damage, it ordered a crackdown against shoddy products.

China achieved a significant milestone in its space programme as it launched its first lunar probe, Chang'e 1 in October and its by far most sophisticated satellite has beamed back pictures. The nation celebrated the success of its first phase of the moon mission but denied any military motive behind the launch of the lunar orbiter.

China is actively preparing to host the 2008 Olympics in Beijing next August and authorities are leaving no stones unturned to ensure that the world's premier sporting event will be a grand success, further enhancing the country's image.

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