There is a new spirit of bonhomie in the air on both sides of
the Himalayas.
China and India are improving their relationship, taking it to a
new level.
India's Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar starts his two-day
China trip today. His talks with officials are expected to lead to
agreements on cooperation in oil exploration, production, storage,
conservation and research and development.
Aiyar is the second Indian minister to visit Beijing in a week.
Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran wrapped up his visit for the
second round of India-China strategic dialogue on January 9-10.
The two countries have been qualitatively upgrading their
relations to strategic levels. The relationship is becoming more
mature, with the two countries looking upon each other as partners
rather than rivals.
During Premier Wen Jiabao's India visit in April 2005, the two
nations agreed to upgrade their relations and establish a
"strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity."
They agreed to come up with a plan to resolve border disputes and
let trade flourish.
The presence of the two Indian officials in China is the first
major bilateral event of a year that is being marked as the "Year
of India-China Friendship."
The strategic dialogue will instil confidence and cooperation
between the two nations. It is a realistic response to the reality
of the bilateral relations.
Ties between the two booming nations have flourished in recent
years, led primarily by trade. A two-way trade volume of US$18.5
billion by the end of last year draws the two countries closer.
They are complementary with and supplementary to each other, but
remain competitive on many other fronts.
There is a clear awareness of their linked destinies as
neighbors and the two largest countries of Asia. More mutual
understanding, trust and cooperation between them will contribute
significantly to the prosperity and stability of the region and the
world as a whole.
The strategic talks between India and China were the outcome of
years of efforts by the two "to take bilateral engagements into a
long-term and strategic relationship."
Sino-Indian relations have been warming up in the past few years
with a flurry of official exchanges, covering issues from border
disputes to enhanced trade and closer political ties.
The dialogue will broaden the scope of the bilateral
relationship, allowing both sides to swap notes on global and
regional security issues.
Such a forum will help them forge greater understanding of
respective positions on a wide range of issues.
The move to upgrade the relationship indicates a willingness
from both countries to explore ways to enhance mutual engagement on
other pressing issues while continuing to address contentious
aspects like the boundary dispute.
Officials from the two countries will, for the seventh time,
bring the boundary issue to the negotiating table in New Delhi next
month. The issue involves more than 125,000 square kilometers in
disputed territory.
The discussions on the boundary issue have been put on the back
burner.
This is the right approach to building an atmosphere conducive
to dealing with this decades-old issue.
China and India cannot afford to let the contentious issue come
in the way of taking forward bilateral relations.
The two rounds of strategic dialogue, with the first held in New
Delhi on January 24-25, 2005, have framed the agenda for this
interaction.
Guided by the bright prospect the economic partnership holds for
the future, the dialogue lends a strategic dimension to the
relationship.
(China Daily January 12, 2006)
