Business, not politics

Business, not politics

The contrast between Li Peng’s last visit to this country in 1991, when he was prime minister of China, and his current one, illustrates well the changes taking place in the bilateral relationship in the context of a changing global environment. No longer premier now, Li Peng is chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress but more powerful than before, standing at number two in the leadership of the communist party, after the president Jiang Zemin. Prime minister Zhu Rongji is number three. It is appropriate that this second most powerful Chinese leader should begin his current visit to India in the commercial capital, Mumbai, spend time in the infotech capital, Bangalore, and go out of his way to make a courtesy call on an old doctor. Political contacts have their place in the nine-day schedule but no longer consume all the space in the relationship or supercede other mutual interests. This is as it should be. A shift in the centre of gravity in India-China relations is necessary.

The effort at the political level to strengthen relations and manage tensions has been fruitful and cleared the way for an increase in economic traffic between the countries and exchanges at the people to people level, all of which the Li Peng visit seems to underline. Differences will not melt away with an increase in trade and commerce. But it is surely better to be disputing over anti-dumping duties than the demarcation of the border. The latter task still remains to be completed but there has been some progress with the recent exchange of maps for one sector. More progress must follow improvements in understanding at government to government as well as people to people levels. What will undoubtedly impress our Chinese visitors during their encounters with business and industry is the ferment in India and the prospects that lie ahead of both India-China partnerships as well as rivalries in economic spheres. Managing those rivalries has become very important. It must be hoped that building new bilateralinstitutions in the economic arena and strengthening existing ones like the Indo-China Business Council will be explored during the Li Peng visit.

Beijing’s military and nuclear relationship with Pakistan has long been cause for unhappiness in this country. There appears to be a better understanding today between Beijing and Washington than exists between Beijing and New Delhi on Chinese efforts to halt military exports to Pakistan. This is an opportunity for more frankness on the subject and to bring home to Chinese leaders the importance of scaling down the China-Pakistan military relationship in the interests of the whole South Asian and Central Asian regions. The Chinese are becoming increasingly concerned about changes in the Asia-Pacific security environment and particularly US plans for missile defences which it is feared would degrade China’s nuclear deterrent. India has grown closer to the US but nevertheless shares many of China’s concerns. The time is right to set up a specific dialogue with China on Asian-Pacific security in the context of a new Republican administration in the US.