Sun shines through the Great Wall

Despite Pakistan and Arunachal Pradesh, Chinese prez Hu Jintao is ready to do business with India, and this might mark a paradigm shift in South Asia

Pranay Sharma Delhi

In the end, Chinese President Hu Jintao's four-day visit to India remained what the Indian leadership wanted it to be: cool, efficient and officially successful. The lines, the shake of hands and the smiles, all seemed well-rehearsed and part of the script. There were no surprises and no attempts to surprise.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not land up at the airport to receive Hu as he did when US President George W. Bush and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah visited India earlier this year. There was speculation that he would, but the prime minister decided to chair a cabinet meeting and kept himself busy with other “pressing” matters. “We don't want to hype our relation with China. We want it to be business like,” an official in South Block said.

In a period of one year, Singh and Hu have met five times. Most of the meetings were on the sidelines of other regional or multilateral meetings. But questions were still being asked as to why the prime minister could not be at the airport to receive the president of India’s biggest and most powerful neighbour. Besides, this was the first presidential visit from China in 10 years.

There must have been some thinking behind the decision to not be at the airport. The visit of the Saudi king took place after 27 years. Moreover, he was invited to be the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations. As for Bush, he was going to offer the civilian nuclear deal—an agreement the UPA government was keen to have.

The two sides got around to signing all the agreements they had agreed to in the run-up to Hu’s visit. Yes, there is great potential for India and China to cooperate in a number of areas for mutual benefit. However, they have not yet reached that decisive stage. “Our relations are difficult and complex,” South Block mandarins admit. But they are quick to add, “The relations are also extremely important.”

For decades, Indian policy planners have been sharply divided on how to relate to China. Some look with envy at China’s phenomenal economic success and its steady rise on the world stage. Others feel trepidation and suspicion at Beijing’s growing military might and its strategy to strengthen ties with India’s neighbours in South Asia. China’s image keeps changing in the Indian political kaleidoscope.

There have been arguments in favour of establishing a policy to contain China. The improvement of ties with the US and other major powers in Asia is obviously linked to this. The proponents of this theory believe that since India and China, in the ultimate analysis, will end up as rivals, it would help Delhi to embark on a strategy that could check China’s rise. There are also those in the opposite camp, who look at China as a partner with whom India and some other big players could get together to act as a counter-balance to the American political, economic and military clout in the world. The sceptics are not limited to India. China has a fair share of them as well. Many Chinese policy-makers are still not sure about the extent to which China can trust India.