A new chapter in India-China relations
- By Ashok K. Kantha
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 22, 2015
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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 14, 2015. [Xinhua/Yao Dawei] |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just completed a productive and positive visit to China. The three-day visit, from May 14-16, was rich in symbolism and substance and has taken the relationship between India and China to new heights. Coming just eight months after the landmark visit of President Xi Jinping to India, it has opened up a new chapter in India-China relations.
The Prime Minister's visit was rich in symbolism, reflecting the growing closeness between India and China. For the first time, President Xi travelled outside Beijing to receive a foreign leader, in Xi'an in his home province of Shaanxi. President Xi also accompanied Prime Minister to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda--itself a symbol of the shared legacy of our two great civilizations--and organized a grand welcome ceremony at the Xi'an city wall. Premier Li Keqiang joined Prime Minister at the Yoga-Taichi performance with the world heritage site of Temple of Heaven as the backdrop, the first ever such event, which highlighted the cultural connectivity between the two countries. And, who can forget Prime Minister Modi's "selfie" with Premier Li which has gone viral with over 33 million hits on the Weibo when I last checked? The level of reception accorded to Prime Minister was unprecedented, to say the least. As Prime Minister remarked, this was not merely a reception for him or his delegation, but a reflection of the increased importance that both India and China attach to relations with each other.
The results achieved are also impressive. There were 24 agreements signed on the government-to-government side, 26 MoUs on the business-to-business side and two joint statements, including one on climate change. These deliverables look phenomenal when we consider that substantial outcomes were achieved last September when President Xi visited India. The fact that India and China could come up with over 50 outcome documents in just eight months reveals the huge potential that exists between our two countries, as well as the efforts that we have made to elevate our partnership.
The understandings on multiple aspects of functional cooperation reflect a follow-up to the Closer Developmental Partnership that we established last year, besides an exploration of new avenues for cooperation. The inter-governmental agreements covered, as Premier Li said, areas from the heaven to the earth! They included such diverse fields as space cooperation, earthquake engineering, ocean sciences, mining, railways, skill development, education, culture, Yoga, tourism and many more.
The strength of our economic partnership could be gauged from the business events in Shanghai. Prime Minister interacted with 21 CEOs of leading Chinese companies and the response was so positive that the meeting went far longer than scheduled. Over 40 prominent Indian CEOs attended the business forum along with their counterparts from China. The 26 business understandings worth over $22 billion signed at the forum covered such varied sectors as industrial parks, renewable energy, thermal energy, telecommunication, steel, capital goods, IT and media. Besides, there was a clear consensus among the leaders of the two countries on correcting the existing imbalance in the bilateral trade and injecting sustainability into it. With this in mind, they agreed to establish a high-powered task force that will go into issues relating to the trade deficit as well as expansion of economic engagement.
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