Prime minister Manmohan Singh greeted prime minister Wen Jiabao and said he regarded relations with China with “optimism” and looked forward to working with the Chinese premier.
India and China celebrated 60 years of diplomatic ties on Monday with top political leaders exchanging greetings and for the moment, brushing under the carpet differences that have strained relations between the Asian giants.
Tension between India and China, triggered by the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal, border incursions by the Chinese army, issuance of stapled passports to Kashmiris by the Chinese embassy and Beijing’s attempts to scuttle Asian Development Bank funding to Arunachal, which it claims is its territory, has cooled down considerably.
At the moment the mood is for repairing ties and taking the relationship forward.
The Indian Council of World Affairs kicked off the celebrations with a seminar on ‘India and China: Public Diplomacy, Building Understanding’.
As scholars from India and China sat down to exchange views, national security adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and China’s envoy in India Zhang Yan spoke significantly on similar strain of hope.
President Pratibha Patil, in a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao said, “Our bilateral relations have gained in strength and momentum and have assumed global and strategic dimensions.”
Prime minister Manmohan Singh greeted prime minister Wen Jiabao and said he regarded relations with China with “optimism” and looked forward to working with the Chinese premier.
Foreign minister SM Krishna also greeted his counterpart Yang Jiechi.
“In spite of temporary ups and downs I am optimistic of India-China relations with our political leaders taking along term perspective,” Zhang said.
“Cooperation, consultation and dialogue is the way ahead,” the ambassador said.
Menon, who was earlier posted in Beijing as ambassador, said in his keynote address, “So long as India and China continue to be preoccupied with domestic development and understand the need for a peaceful periphery for growth… it is my understanding that the elements of competition in the bilateral relationship can be managed and the elements of congruence can be built upon”.
He made the larger point that India and China can work hand in hand to manage the Asian security environment. India’s preference is open security architecture and a multi-polar approach to regional affairs.
Pakistan and Afghanistan were not mentioned by name, but India’s concerns on terrorism and installing a representative secular government in Kabul once the Americans leave is top on New Delhi’s agenda.
As India and China grow, they would need to do much more to stabilise the region, Menon said.
“Asia has proved she can do the economics. Can she also do the politics that comes with power?” was his rhetorical query.
Menon also pleaded for a more informed public debate on India-China ties, saying the emergence of “nativist” voices and the tendency to pass off opinion as fact, especially on television.
“… neither India nor China can afford misperceptions or distortions of policy caused by a lack of understanding of each other’s compulsions and policy processes,” he said.
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