India to become first country to open cultural centre in China

NEW DELHI, NOV 12: India will become the first country ever to open a cultural centre in Chinese territory. This decision was taken during...

NEW DELHI, NOV 12: India will become the first country ever to open a cultural centre in Chinese territory. This decision was taken during the recent visit of Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, to China.

The cultural centre to be set up soon, initially within the premises of the Indian embassy in Beijing, will facilitate mutual exchange of cultural programmes, Joshi told The Indian Express. China also agreed in principle to allow India to open education centres in China.

Though no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the visit, a reciprocal trip by Chinese Deputy Education Minister, Dr Weiyu, next month, is likely to open a new chapter in bilateral ties between the two countries, he said.

Chinese leaders appreciated Indian’s concern for preserving its cultural heritage despite going in for rapid modernisation and globalisation, a feat which China has failed to achieve. They expressed concern over growing influence of Western culture on Chinese youth and sought India’s cooperation in dealing with this menace.

Joshi found Shanghai a completely transformed city from what he saw barely four-five years ago. “Now there is no difference between Shanghai and New York, both in appearance and in culture,” Joshi said.

The two countries agreed to cooperate in the fields of herbal medicine, Informational Technology and technical education, he said. Chinese leaders were fairly impressed with University Grants Commission (UGC), the nodal agency to monitor higher education in India.

Joshi’s visit has allowed China to have a better understanding of the Indian education system after which the Chinese Government has decided to send more students to India. Presently only 200 Chinese students are pursuing various courses in Indian universities which normally have a quota of 15 per cent for foreign students in technical courses.

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Joshi reportedly received a much warmer welcome than what is accorded to a visiting Union Minister from India. His accommodation had been arranged in the best hotel in Beijing with two Chinese officials staying in the same hotel to oversee arrangements. He had also been provided a red-beaconed car with escorts and was allowed to meet the Chinese vice-president, adelegation member said.

Discussions between the HRD Minister and the Chinese delegation ranged from the nuclear policy of the two nations to foreign affairs. Joshi also called on former Chinese foreign minister, Huyan Hua, who has been playing an active role in the Chinese Communist Party for the past 40 years, to discuss foreign issues of mutual concern. However, both sides conveniently skirted across contentious issues like the border dispute between the two countries, reported Chinese infiltration in Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet, the sources said.