By Shi Weicheng
The most important issue in relations between Indian and China is the border dispute between the two countries. But both countries are facing a new situation as the financial crisis boosts their role in international politics and speeds up the re-conceptualization of the world system.
Few people thought that China and India would reach agreement in their August 8 talks on the border issue. But the talks attracted the attention of the world, above all of the public in China and India, for the following reasons:
First, the ongoing financial crisis has changed the world. Cooperation to combat the crisis has become the main theme of international relations. However, what form that cooperation will take is a difficult issue, especially for China and India. The crisis has improved China's and India's standing in the international community. The world is watching carefully to determine if their strategic thinking has altered.
Second, the boundary issues between India and China affect each country's core interests, and are complicated historical problems. Both sides would like to work towards a win-win solution. The latest discussions were just one round in a series of talks, but as always they attracted attention because of the importance of the issues at stake.
Third, dealing successfully with the boundary problem is a precondition of either country taking the world stage as a genuine great power. Both India and China need to express themselves with wisdom on this issue if they want to make the jump from Asian regional powers to world powers.
India has to adjust its strategic thinking in relation to China if it wants to avoid marginalization in East Asia affairs. If not, it will be kept at arms length from ongoing East Asian integration, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
At the same time, the talks were an opportunity for China to practice a foreign policy based on partnership and being a good neighbor. This is an inevitable stage in China's progress to becoming a world power. How the good neighbor policy was reflected in the talks is a point deserving attention.
All in all, the outcome of the talks was not the key issue, because people knew they would not achieve concrete results on the border dispute. The real point was the process of talking, and any hints that may emerge of changes in the two countries' strategic thinking. This aspect, rather than the boundary problem, is worthy of more research.
India and China will celebrate the 60th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations next year. Both sides wanted a friendly round of talks to set the tone for the upcoming celebrations. The atmosphere of the talks and its implication for future relations between the two countries deserves attention. The talks may herald a shift in political tectonics, precisely because the financial crisis has challenged traditional ways of thinking about the problems faced by both countries. In this sense, this round of talks was a potential new beginning in relations between the two neighbors.
(China.org.cn August 14, 2009)
