“On India-China Relations:  The Way Forward” Speech by Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India to China at Fudan University 

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share with you my reflections on the state of India-China bilateral relations.  Situated at the heart of what is arguably China’s most vibrant, most international and most enchanting metropolis, Fudan University is a fitting embodiment of the rhythm and pulse of Shanghai. The tradition of distinctive scholarship and erudition associated with the University has drawn the best and the brightest from China and abroad ---- bridging every pedagogic divide ---- making it a veritable repository of talent and potential of the entire country.  It is no wonder that some of the most insightful commentaries on matters of state and diplomatic importance are associated with members of this prestigious university, who, I am sure, also provide significant academic inputs to policy-making. I am also happy to note that Fudan University has established and nurtured a tradition of India studies in recent times, under the able stewardship of Professor Shen Dingli and his colleagues. It is a privilege to speak to this distinguished audience and here, I shall attempt to give you a frank and fair assessment of our ties today, their potential and promise.

I want to take the visit of former Indian Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi to China almost twenty years ago to this day as our point of departure. As a mid-ranking delegate in that history-making visit, I still recall vividly the intoxicating sense of excitement and anticipation we felt as our leaders were photographed in their celebrated ‘long handshake’. The visit signified a substantive overture from India to move ahead, shedding past reservations in our relationship, in order to forge ties that were oriented towards the 21st century, and the rise of India and China on the global stage.  The history and experiences of the last twenty years has made that visit and its approach look prophetic. Today, our two countries have increasingly come to be recognized as attaining that potential, that voice and influence that was denied to them by the forces of history in times past.  In today’s increasingly globalized world, the billion-pluses on either side of the Himalayas could not have afforded to remain aloof to the commercial potential or cultural appeal of the other and make our contacts contingent on prior settlement of the boundary question. Thus, the visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi remains a defining point in India-China relations, a historic opening that unveiled new vistas for all-round cooperation.

Today, there is an overarching consensus across India’s political spectrum that an efficiently transacted and well-balanced relationship with China is vital to India. It is heartening to see similar sentiments expressed by the top leaders in China, who have defined ties with India as a strategic policy of their country. Our leaders today are meeting with increasing frequency, as befits the two great nations. Our two governments have decided to characterize our engagement in the changed geo-political and geo-economic scenario as a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership for peace and prosperity. This means that we should not only take a strategic and long-term view of our bilateral ties in their multiple dimensions, but should constantly bear in mind our converging worldview of global, international and regional issues and events and give full play to our role as the two largest developing nations. 

A few things stand out in this partnership. First, the pace of change. Only over two decades ago, it would be rare and radical for any discourse on contemporary India-China bilateral relations to dwell on anything other than the boundary question. Today, on the other hand, we are engaged in a constructive dialogue on a number of issues, including political, economic, cultural, people-to-people and military cooperation. Such widening and broad-basing has also been accompanied by significant deepening of ties. Today, we have much more substantive interactions between the two governments, much deeper understanding of each other's positions on key issues, much stronger desire to learn from each other and much more acknowledgement of the common objectives and shared destiny of the two countries in their developmental processes. Trade, which was miniscule at the beginning of the 1990s, is now driving our overall bilateral ties, with China emerging as our largest trading partner last year.

Second, the nature of stakes and stakeholders. The relations between India and China today are not purely a function of actions of the two governments. Indeed, a significant source of energy and dynamism in our ties remains the civil society, especially the business class. With growing economic and commercial ties, increase in physical connectivity as well as a rapid and unprecedented flow of ideas, our two societies are today involved like never before in shaping their ties. Globalization has redrawn the nature of actors and redefined relations between states in the process. Scholars like those present here are also strong stakeholders in our ties.

Third, the dimensions of relations. Bilateral interactions are not the only dimension of our engagement today. Indeed, the inspiration for the creation of a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership came from a recognition that our relations were increasingly assuming global and strategic connotations. We followed up on this by outlining, during the visit of our Prime Minister to China in January this year, a common vision of our partnership for the 21st century. Today, in the multilateral and international arena, whether it is the climate change debate or summits to decide the future of global finance and economy, we find ourselves adopting similar positions on issues of common concern to the developing world. We are also engaged in useful consultation and coordination on regional issues like Myanmar with the common objective of maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in our wider neighbourhood.

Finally, the very nature of the India-China discourse. Today, a growing body of scholarship as well as policy-making in our two countries and beyond is devoted to the study of India-China interaction and its prognosis. This extraordinary interest in our relations today only goes to show that our engagement can materially affect the lives of our people and perhaps the course of the world. By virtue of sheer numbers, our two countries are bound to make their presence felt. The development dynamics, in which each country acts as a spur on the other and holds out a model worthy of serious study by the other, puts the discourse in correct perspective. At a time when both our countries are busy eradicating poverty and ensuring better living standards for our citizens, our Strategic and Cooperative Partnership must reflect the agenda of inclusive development as its biggest motivator.

The prerequisite for sustained development is peace and stability, both internally as well as in our neighbourhood and the world at large. We have maintained peace and tranquility in our borders through a series of CBMs and it will be our aim to further reinforce this trend. However, with geographical distances shrinking in salience, the notion of peace as an enabler of development is expanding to include within its purview much more than our border areas. Thus, we need to preserve regional and world peace and stability, prevent undesirable shocks, and work to make the existing world order more sustainable and equitable  in the light of contemporary realities. Our cooperation can range from maintaining peace and stability on our borders to effective cooperation within the UN and the global community, to countering the scourge of terrorism, to disarmament, non-proliferation and elimination of weapons of mass destruction through to non-weaponization of the outer space.

China and India joining hands can not only safeguard their own interests but also that of other developing nations. One of the ways in which development could potentially be denied to us is by creation of new rules of the game. There are several manifestations of this, be it the attempts by some countries to bypass the Bali Roadmap for long-term cooperation on Climate Change under the UN Framework Convention or the new round of trade protectionism in the West. We need to work harder for early conclusion of the Doha Development Round and ensure that the interests of the developing countries find appropriate reflection. The issue of energy security is a challenge common to both India and China; and here, the context of climate change cannot be ignored. We need to work together to ensure easier and more affordable access to technology that is clean and sustainable and on research and development in renewable sources of energy. These are only some of the challenges in the development debate. There are bound to be more such challenges, which India and China will have to face from the same side of the divide.

Does it mean that our Strategic and Cooperative Partnership is all about cooperation and no conflict of interests, real or perceived? To make a fair assessment about today’s diplomacy, where national interests and realpolitik dictate action of state players, no relation that is intense enough to be called a strategic partnership could lend itself to simplistic portrayal in dichotomous terms of competition and cooperation. There will always be overlaps between competition and cooperation. A fair amount of healthy competition is not necessarily bad and can indeed lead to more meaningful cooperation. Therefore, let me share with you my personal assessment on some of the potential points of friction, in the hope that greater understanding of each other’s concerns will help alleviate differences and reduce mutual suspicions.

It would be difficult to wish away history even as we seek to draw lessons from it. For both countries, settlement of the outstanding boundary question is crucial and important for realizing the full potential of cooperation. It is also a sensitive issue in both countries. Military means can never be an acceptable option for settlement; nor will they ever be. But how do we ensure that both sides are better off at the end of the peaceful political settlement process that we have launched? As strategic partners, the key lies in having the courage and vision to take into account and accommodate reasonable interests of each other. At the same time, innovative ideas that create win-win for both sides and ensure lasting and enduring peace on our borders could also be explored using the creative genius of our two peoples.

The salience of the boundary issue in our overall relations may be reduced over time, but speculation about each other’s intentions and strategic goals persists. This is especially true in the military field. Despite several CBMs and increasing contacts between our defence forces, the degree of mutual trust must be increased. We in India are ready to interact peacefully with the Chinese Armed Forces at all levels in a more meaningful and transparent manner, but we still have distances to cover in this regard.  Difficulties faced in the past should not be inhibiting factors in the development of a mature and trust-building dialogue between the military establishments of our two countries. On occasions, commentaries appear in the public domain that reflect a trust deficit.  This applies on both sides.  We should facilitate a healthy and friendly debate between intellectual establishments and think-tanks on both sides so as to clear the air of misunderstandings.

Political distrust and suspicion may be gradually diluting with enhanced contacts and dialogues at diplomatic and political levels which are not signs of vulnerability but symptoms of increasing maturity and confidence. On an issue of critical importance and serious concern for China and also of emotional and spiritual appeal for many Indians, namely the Tibet issue and the presence of the Dalai Lama in India, our government has shown through action, including at the time of the Tibet disturbances in March this year, that we do not allow Indian soil to be used for anti-China political activities. On the Taiwan issue, our position has been consistently supportive of the principle of one China.

We in India appreciate China’s assistance by way of provision of hydrological data which has helped flood prevention and mitigation downstream in India; its import has been much more than technical discussion involving experts. China joining the NSG consensus in September this year to allow nuclear trade between India and NSG members was also a positive step, though lack of open articulation of support by China in advance kept people guessing till the last hours, and was the cause of some concern. At the same time, China’s political confidence-building will get fortified in India were its support to our permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council more forthcoming. An open and unambiguous statement by China in this regard will mean a lot to India and be the most fitting demonstration of China’s commitment to our Strategic and Cooperative Partnership. 

In the economic realm, even as we congratulate ourselves on the fast growth in trade, questions about sustainability remain in the absence of diversity in our trade basket. At the moment, natural resources constitute the overwhelming proportion of our export to China, and China’s appetite for iron ore has been a happy development for our mining industry. With the demand for natural resources falling with what is likely to be a global recession, however, the issue of trade pattern will come under increased scrutiny. A section of the Indian industry is also concerned about the mysterious “China Price”, closure of businesses and loss of livelihood seen to be due to competition from China. The existence of non-tariff barriers in China is also a dampener for Indian traders. All these issues including more import of agricultural products from India need to be dealt with properly to make trade more sustainable and balanced, which will help create better conditions for consideration of the issue of China’s market economy status. I know there are also misgivings among Chinese investors about India’s FDI rules but let me assure you that while India has industry-specific FDI policies ---- something that all sovereign nations have in keeping with their national priorities ---- there are no country-specific restrictions.

Then there are prospective issues, which could potentially lead to collision of Indian and Chinese interests. Some talk about global search for limited and vital natural resources ranging from oil and gas to timber by two developing behemoths of India and China inevitably leading to clashes. This need not be so, as our cooperation in exploring hydrocarbon in third countries like Sudan has shown. Even if some aggressive acquisition moves by Chinese companies have hurt Indian commercial and energy interests, for instance in Kazakhstan, to imagine a politically-motivated scramble for resources played in a global theatre on the lines of 19th century models is neither likely in this age of smooth resource transactions nor appealing to our countries who have borne the brunt of the West’s imperialist ambitions.

Then there is the question of possible geopolitical alliances to act against each other. China sounds concerned about a possible India-US alliance or an arc of democracies against China, but as any serious student of India’s diplomatic and national strategy will testify, western notions like alliance, encirclement and counterbalance are not part of the vocabulary of Indian strategic thinking, which is sui generis and fiercely independent. If at all, we tend to think more like the Chinese adage “Near neighbours count more than distant relatives.” We on our part wish to engage with the wider world, both near and far. It is in this belief and confidence that we do not seriously cry foul about China’s growing engagement in our shared neighbourhood; but as a Strategic and Cooperative Partner, I think India can reasonably expect China to use its influence among its friends in the region to help common prosperity in the region and end the kind of ghastly acts of cross-border terrorism we saw only last week in Mumbai.

I have spoken frankly about issues that have created doubts on both sides now and then. However, as long as we keep the long-term and strategic nature of our partnership in mind, we will see the rationale for calmly approaching such seemingly immediate issues in the interests of the long-term objectives. The gains accrued since the visit of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit I spoke about at the outset could only be a prelude to much more than we can do together. While scope for competition and cooperation exists side by side, the choice, of whether to make competition or cooperation the dominant theme of India-China discourse, is ours. After all, as the person holding our Prime Minister’s hands in that celebrated long handshake and the father of China’s reform and opening-up Deng Xiaoping famously said, “development is the hard rationale.” He also said that a real Asian century will arrive only when China and India have developed. As both India and China enjoy what looks like sustained high-growth trajectory, we must not let the opportunity of millennial proportion slip by. The ongoing economic crisis elsewhere in the world has made it even more important for the two of us to rediscover each other.

Let me conclude by quoting these beautiful words from the Rig Veda:
`Samgacchadhvam Samvadadhvam Sam vo manamsi janatam’  

`Meet together, talk together: May your minds comprehend alike.’  (Rig Veda: 10,192)