Posted on 11/20/2006 6:23:44 PM PST by blam
China and India aim to heal old wounds
By Peter Foster in New Delhi
Last Updated: 2:06am GMT 21/11/2006
The leaders of the world's two most populous nations, China and India, will meet in New Delhi today in the hope that expanding trade can heal more than four decades of antipathy and suspicion.
Hu Jintao, is making the first visit to India by a Chinese president for a decade. He will meet the Indian premier, Dr Manmohan Singh, for talks aimed at improving relations between the emerging economic giants of Asia.
Despite trade between India and China expected to reach a record £10 billion this year – a rise of 37 per cent on 2005 – both nations continue to harbour suspicions dating back to the brief, but bloody border war they fought in 1962.
The potentially difficult mood for the talks was set last week when China's ambassador to India re-staked China's territorial claim to the Indian-administered Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh. India's foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, issued a strong rebuff, warning that the state remained "an integral part of India".
Even on trade there are sharp differences between the nations. As a measure of India's distrust, the New Delhi government continues to bar Chinese companies from investing in "strategic" sectors such as telecoms and ports.
For India, China's military and economic support of India's arch-rival, Pakistan, remains a stumbling block.
Later this week, Mr Hu will visit Islamabad, where he is expected to offer enhanced civilian nuclear support to Pakistan in what will be seen as a counter-move to the nuclear co-operation deal agreed by Washington and New Delhi last year.
For China, both India's growing closeness to America and its continued support of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, are sources of grievance. Mr Hu, who will visit New Delhi before sightseeing at the Taj Mahal and delivering a lecture to businessmen in Bombay, has been the subject of several protests by Tibetan activists prior to his visit.
Diplomatic sources in New Delhi have sought to lower expectations of a repeat of the ground-breaking Sino-Indian treaty signed by the then Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, following his visit in 1996.
However some measures, possibly including a foreign ministers' "hotline", are expected to assist in creating a more favourable climate, according to analysts.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Mukherjee made clear that improved relations between the two countries were vital.
"How we manage this relationship will have a tremendous impact on peace and stability in the regional and, increasingly, the global context," he said.
They will heal "old wounds" by claiming new territories.
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