India has unveiled an ambitious agenda to elevate its ties with
China, with External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj announcing a
six-point proposal to jointly realise with Beijing, the dream of an
“Asian Century”. In her first engagement of the morning in the Chinese
capital, Ms. Swaraj said at the inaugural of the Second India-China
Media Forum that a six-point template can enrich the civilizations of
India and China in the modern era, resulting in the realisation of an
“Asian Century”.
Listing out the proposals in alphabetical order A-F, Ms. Swaraj
stressed that New Delhi-Beijing ties can reach the next level if both
sides enforce an “action- oriented approach and a broad-based
bilateral engagement”. She asserted that the two countries need to
achieve “convergence on common regional and global interests” and
“develop new areas of cooperation”. The two sides needed to “expand
strategic communication” and “fulfil the common aspiration to usher
and ‘Asian Century’,” Ms. Swaraj observed.
The visiting Minister announced that on the “boundary question” - anirritant in the relationship that triggered the 1962, Sino-Indian war- “my government is committed to exploring an early settlement”. Ms.Swaraj, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday night, after a stopover inKunming, one of the starting points of the China’s Maritime Silk Road
initiative and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economiccorridor, also observed that the foundation had been laid to take theSino-Indian “economic cooperation to a qualitatively new level”.
On its part, China acknowledged the Sino-Indian relations had entereda new period of “major-country relations,” a nuanced formulationreserved to describe Beijing’s ties with regional and global
heavyweights, including the United States. Also speaking at themedia-forum inaugural, China’s Jiang Jianguo, minister of statecouncil information office quoted former leader Deng Xiaoping as
saying that “only when China and India have developed will a real‘century of Asia’ will emerge.” He substantiated Beijing’s aspirationsby inviting India to participate in the Silk Road Economic Belt and
the 21 set century Maritime Silk Road—President Xi’s pet project toachieve Eurasian economic integration, based on a land and seatransportation network, complemented by a grid off energy pipelines,
fiber-optic highways, industrial parks and smart cities. “With the‘belt and road’ initiatives as wings, China wants to take off togetherwith the countries involved,” said Mr. Jiang. India has so far backedthe BCIM proposal that would connect Kolkata with Kunming-the capitalof Yunnan province, which is the gateway to three ASEAN countries:
Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. New Delhi also hosted a meeting of chiefnegotiators of the Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank,signalling India’s full support to a China backed initiative that islikely to help support President Xi’s Silk Road projects.
Yet, China’s forays in the Indian Ocean, including Sri Lanka andMaldives, are impeding New Delhi full support for the MSR. “Ourstrategic dialogue with China has to broaden and deepen to addressthese concerns,” a diplomatic source told The Hindu. In her addressMs. Swaraj promised “to make it easier” for Chinese companies to dobusiness in India, citing the establishment of two China-backedindustrial parks in India, as an illustration of Bejing’s support for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative to spur themanufacturing sector in India.
China, with External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj announcing a
six-point proposal to jointly realise with Beijing, the dream of an
“Asian Century”. In her first engagement of the morning in the Chinese
capital, Ms. Swaraj said at the inaugural of the Second India-China
Media Forum that a six-point template can enrich the civilizations of
India and China in the modern era, resulting in the realisation of an
“Asian Century”.
Listing out the proposals in alphabetical order A-F, Ms. Swaraj
stressed that New Delhi-Beijing ties can reach the next level if both
sides enforce an “action- oriented approach and a broad-based
bilateral engagement”. She asserted that the two countries need to
achieve “convergence on common regional and global interests” and
“develop new areas of cooperation”. The two sides needed to “expand
strategic communication” and “fulfil the common aspiration to usher
and ‘Asian Century’,” Ms. Swaraj observed.
The visiting Minister announced that on the “boundary question” - anirritant in the relationship that triggered the 1962, Sino-Indian war- “my government is committed to exploring an early settlement”. Ms.Swaraj, who arrived in Beijing on Saturday night, after a stopover inKunming, one of the starting points of the China’s Maritime Silk Road
initiative and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economiccorridor, also observed that the foundation had been laid to take theSino-Indian “economic cooperation to a qualitatively new level”.
On its part, China acknowledged the Sino-Indian relations had entereda new period of “major-country relations,” a nuanced formulationreserved to describe Beijing’s ties with regional and global
heavyweights, including the United States. Also speaking at themedia-forum inaugural, China’s Jiang Jianguo, minister of statecouncil information office quoted former leader Deng Xiaoping as
saying that “only when China and India have developed will a real‘century of Asia’ will emerge.” He substantiated Beijing’s aspirationsby inviting India to participate in the Silk Road Economic Belt and
the 21 set century Maritime Silk Road—President Xi’s pet project toachieve Eurasian economic integration, based on a land and seatransportation network, complemented by a grid off energy pipelines,
fiber-optic highways, industrial parks and smart cities. “With the‘belt and road’ initiatives as wings, China wants to take off togetherwith the countries involved,” said Mr. Jiang. India has so far backedthe BCIM proposal that would connect Kolkata with Kunming-the capitalof Yunnan province, which is the gateway to three ASEAN countries:
Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. New Delhi also hosted a meeting of chiefnegotiators of the Asian Investment and Infrastructure Bank,signalling India’s full support to a China backed initiative that islikely to help support President Xi’s Silk Road projects.
Yet, China’s forays in the Indian Ocean, including Sri Lanka andMaldives, are impeding New Delhi full support for the MSR. “Ourstrategic dialogue with China has to broaden and deepen to addressthese concerns,” a diplomatic source told The Hindu. In her addressMs. Swaraj promised “to make it easier” for Chinese companies to dobusiness in India, citing the establishment of two China-backedindustrial parks in India, as an illustration of Bejing’s support for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative to spur themanufacturing sector in India.
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