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Journalism of Courage
After nearly two years of tension on a wide range of issues,including Beijings ambivalence about Indias territorial sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir,the positive atmospherics from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaos visit are indeed welcome. Delhi had set much store by Wen,who has taken ownership in Beijing for the relationship with India,to address and resolve the many political issues that have complicated bilateral ties. In the joint statement issued at the end of his consultations with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his other remarks,Wen offered to build a new strategic consensus with Delhi. Sceptics will keep their fingers crossed to see if China can translate Wens fine words into concrete action. The optimists will recognise the importance of sustained engagement to produce even small results in India-China relations.Although the words mutual respect and sensitivity for each others concerns and aspirations sound banal,this important phrase in the joint statement must be read in the context of Indias vigorous objec-tion in recent months to Chinas policy of issuing stapled visas to Indian citizens from Jamp;K. Wen apparently raised the question on his own,reassured Dr Singh that Beijing takes Indias concerns seriously and promised to sort out the issue in a dialogue between officials in the near future. On the question of terrorism,another major concern for India,the joint statement falls well short of the clear and unambiguous demands from other great powers that Pakistan should shut down the terror machine on its soil. On Indias aspirations to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council,Wen has not really advanced Beijings position.If the progress on the political side is somewhat mixed,the news from the economic front is more encouraging. Dr Singh and Wen have set a target of 100 billion for bilateral trade in 2015. This is by no means ambitious. At the current rates of growth,that landmark might be reached within the next couple of years. Indias concern,however,is about the structure of the bilateral trade that is utterly skewed in favour of China. For his part,Wen has promised to facilitate better market access to Indian goods and services. More broadly,his visit should certainly help arrest the recent slide in political relations,but India has much hard work ahead in getting Beijing to show enduring respect and sensitivity to Indias concerns and aspirations.
