A new chapter is unfolding in relations between China and the
South Asian nations.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
opens its 14th summit in New Delhi today. As with all such summits,
this gathering of South Asian nations is expected to generate calls
for better regional cooperation.
As one of the summit observers, China has sent a delegation for
the first time. It is headed by Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
The status SAARC has given to China is opening one more window
for cooperation between the two. China will bring additional
vitality to the association by providing a new dimension to its
interactions, trade and investment.
Historically and geographically China and the southern part of
the continent are closely linked. Their cultural interaction dates
back centuries.
A wide range of concerns provides great potential for
cooperation, such as energy, the economy and trade, human resources
development and people-to-people contact.
The Chinese government has vowed to make concerted efforts with
South Asian nations to promote regional peace and prosperity.
This year Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh takes over the
leadership of SAARC, a key instrument for tackling regional
problems and bolstering cooperation.
The visible improvement in India-Pakistan ties over the past few
years may lead to more regional initiatives.
Stretching from the Maldives in the Indian Ocean in the south to
Nepal in the Himalayas in the north and from Pakistan in the west
to Bangladesh in the east, the vast region is a land of challenge
and hope. It is rich in natural resources and vast in territory and
population.
Home to a large population of the world's poor, SAARC nations at
their previous summit declared 2006-15 the decade of poverty
alleviation.
SAARC progress on the economic front - agreeing to launch a free
trade area - has drawn on what is progressive in other regional
initiatives such as the European Union and the Association for
Southeast Asian Nations.
SAARC was launched with a vision. Its effort to develop
cooperation with countries outside South Asia will increase
opportunities for the development that is vital to the region's
people.
The ambitious initiative of cooperation will help South Asia
exorcise the demons of its past with the hope of future regional
peace and prosperity.
(China Daily April 3, 2007)
