Business, not politics, marks Wen’s visit

Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao’s visit may not be grabbing as much media attention as that of the Obama’s or that of the Sarkozys’, but his visit matters a great deal more to India in real terms.

There are, of course, the outstanding issues, the unresolved border question and the apprehensions with regard to the diversion of Brahmaputra — Tsang Po in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and there are pin-pricks like the stapling of visas for people from Jammu and Kashmir.

It is not surprising that India’s China observers are taken up with the small and big irritants that seem to dominate the bilateral ties between the Asian giants. But prime minister Wen’s visit to India is quite an eye-opener, with its overwhelming focus on trade and economic issues.

The Chinese delegation has about 300 industry and business delegates and in the last two days about 40 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth billions of dollars have been signed.

Wen has spoken of facilitating capital flows between the two countries, and the biggest Chinese banks are to set up their branches in India. There was a time not very long ago, when the Chinese were wary of Indian businesses and the Indians were worried over cheap Chinese imports.

The focus has now shifted. More than the reassuring statement that Wen made in his address to the industry bodies — CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM — yesterday where he talked of there being enough space on the world stage for both China and India to grow, it is the action taken on the business front through the signing of the MoUs that is of greater significance.

The sceptics in New Delhi are likely to remain unconvinced by the new-found economic bonhomie, and they could recall the ‘Hindi-Chini bhai bhai’ euphoria of the 1950s before the calamitous military conflagration of 1962. The situation is, indeed, radically different today than what it was about 50 years ago. India and China are no more the fledgling post-colonial states they were then.

Today they stand as two of the leading world economies, pulling the global markets from recession through their robust domestic economic growth rates. The political differences remain and so does certain wariness in New Delhi and Beijing. But the political leaders on both sides realise that the prospect of economic partnership is not only a grand opportunity to cement bilateral ties but that it is a prerequisite to ensure their respective growth stories. The stakes for cooperation are greater than the temptations of rivalry.