Welcome to ICEC. Thank you for visiting our Website. I feel this is an opportune moment for me, as the National President of ICEC Council, to share with you our theme that we believe should guide our bilateral relations. We are convinced that if India and China work together as partners while competing globally, the 21st Century will rightfully belong to these great nations, each with over 5000 years of culturally enlightened history. I have listed here our reasons for this strong conviction.

ICEC Theme
India plus China rather than India versus China

From time to time both China as well as India have claimed that, unlike Britain, Germany, Japan and others, they are not aggressors and have never occupied 'foreign' territories during their long political history of thousands of years. However they have always claimed what they believe as their own; Kashmir, Hyderabad and other states, Tibet, Leach, Sikkim etc. (British actually reduced us by their infamous ‘Divide and Rule’ policy).

Military confrontation between the two in 1962 was out of long-standing territorial border disputes, the roots of which extend back into the 19th Century, when both China and British India asserted claims to many remote mountainous North East Frontier Areas across Indo-China border. Such conflicts are always characterised by indulging in military expeditions, intrigue as well as unproductive diplomatic moves based on perceptions of those ruling the two countries from time to time. But such aggressions do not display imperialistic ambitions on either side. Significantly in April 2005: India and China announced a new "strategic partnership" pledging to resolve long-standing border disputes and boost trade and economic cooperation between two rising powers that together account for more than a third of the world's population. The announcement came after a summit between Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao. This move for cooperative relationship has significant global implications, given the vast economic potential of India and China and their voracious appetites for energy and other natural resources. The two governments also agreed to a framework for addressing age old differences over their 2,175-mile border, promising to resolve the dispute through peaceful and friendly consultations. They also signed agreements on trade, economic cooperation, technology sharing, civil aviation and other matters. That day China formally abandoned its claim to the tiny Himalayan province of Sikkim, by presenting Indian officials with a map showing the area as part of India.

India and China have thus begun to draw closer, recognizing their common interest in trade, regional stability and, more recently, containing the threat of Islamic extremism. In 2003, Atlas Bihar Vajpayee, then India's prime minister, pledged during a visit to Beijing to respect China's sovereignty over Tibet and not to allow "anti-China political activities" in India, a reference to the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala, led by the Dalai Lama. That commitment too was reiterated in the recent joint declaration mentioned above. The two sides agreed that India-China relations have now acquired a global and strategic character. Both governments agreed to establish a strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity.

The said agreement also calls for resolving the border dispute on the basis of historical records, geography, security needs and the interests of people who live in the area, among other factors. In geopolitical terms, the consequences of a rapprochement between the world's two most populous countries could be profound. In a sense both wish to make the 21st century to be led by India and China.

Time is now getting ripe to capitalize on each other’s economic strengths -- manufacturing and computer hardware in China, services and software in India. Trade between the two countries came to $17.5 billion in 2005, compared with about $22 billion between India and the United States. Mr. Wen Jiabao, China’s Prime Minister, during his visit to Bangalore said, “If India and China cooperate in the IT industry, we will be able to lead the world. It will signify the coming of the Asian century in the IT industry."

Now time is also ripe to look at larger opportunities in global positioning of the region like creating India – China – Russia axis for the larger good of all the three.

Over the last two and half decade China has emerged as a strong country in political, military and economic terms. In today’s world that measures everything in terms of trade and commerce, political beliefs, including those of China, have been overlooked even by the US in the interest of its economic ambitions. Western powers however seem to growingly fear China’s economic success and they are looking to India as a counterweight.

Extraordinary success always makes those, who do not understand essence of life, and who are less enlightened, proud in behaviour and arrogant in expression. Some amongst the Chinese therefore are. So are many rich Indian elite. But neither of the two are any match to American high-handedness and arrogance.

Many believe that USA, in spite of its technological supremacy, is today getting progressively decadent. Broadly speaking that country is on a decline. Indeed militarily it is very strong as reflected in its yearly military budget of more than $420 billion. That strength is in its Weapons of Mass Destruction.  On the ground however it has lost every war since the II World War. There too they won because of their spirited partners in Europe and Asia. Today US is a nervous country that often is erratic in its diplomacy as is often written about even by many American academics and political commentators. It often appears to immaturely flexing its muscles as a super power.

One can see that China is progressively moving towards greater personal freedom. Benefits of economic growth and private ownership is changing social scene in China year after year. Even if it remains unsaid, the democratic trends in its governance are increasingly visible. There is a growing freedom to civic society as also its people’s growing affluence.

There are many admirers of China in India for its ways of dealing with the current global super power; especially since it contrasts with the meek fashion in which Indian diplomats responds to global events and the bilateral issues.

In the area of hydrocarbon fuels too, India and China need to keep in mind the big picture – the evolution of an Asian market for crude and products with long-term supply contracts and stable prices, and, eventually, an Asian Energy Union. As Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer has pointed out; the European Union started life as a coal and steel Union before growing eventually into a full-fledged economic and political community. Energy could play the same role in Asia with India and China serving as sheet anchors. With India and China committed to building strategic petroleum reserves such an idea is no longer far-fetched.

It is growingly realised that in the long run and for several valid reasons, both India and China are better off as neighbourly friends on the either side of Himalayas, rather than being antagonists and suspicious of each other. Time is right for us getting rid of 1962 baggage of mistrust since times now are completely different in economic and political terms.

Certainly being friends with China on our own terms is better in the long run than living on the favours from the American and other western powers treating either of us as a second rate nations.

Growing social and cultural interactivity between India and China is almost a prerequisite for nurturing closer cultural and social ties. This will reveal to both the people the striking similarities between the two as civic societies, in terms of social psyche, their traditional frugal lifestyle and deeply ingrained cultural traditions. Thoughts of Gautam Buddha still prevail amongst the two societies as a guide.

More and more political observers are finding India - China - Russia Axis as a desirable counter-weight to US posture as Global Police, its unholy grip over global institutions as well as the recent prevalence of terrorism fuelled by Muslim fanatic. In terms of sharing Natural Resources (especially hydrocarbons) too such a trilateral alliance will be profitable to all three.

The recent friendship initiative by both the governments should help us get over the historical mutual suspicion. Many of those contagious issues like territorial claims are behind us and process of resolving them has been agreed upon. Alleged Sino-Pakistani umbrella over India's land borders is still a cause for concern. Many also believe that American Nuclear Deal to India has less to do with an overdue recognition of India's increasing stature and more with a policy of containing China. These concerns too need to be addressed.

The common theme could be the opposition of both countries to a univocal world order that has emerged since early 90s. The problem of terrorism influenced by religious fundamentalism and separatism like in Kashmir and Xingjian are troubling both. Both India and China are lobbying the same group of countries to curb support for these groups and a united front would be a key step towards fighting terror. A combined lobbying effort, based on common recognition of the dangers of separatism and terrorism in the region, would no doubt have made the process easier for both countries.

A coordinated diplomatic policy could also be extended to over 100 million or so "overseas" Chinese and Indians. Many countries around the world have vibrant Indian and Chinese communities that share neighbourhoods. In countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, both Indians and Chinese are economically influential though politically weak and increasingly jittery. A far-sighted and coordinated policy from Beijing and Delhi could safeguard the interests of the overseas communities. In areas like Silicon Valley where overseas communities have become important, coordinated Sino-Indian lobbying could leverage the strength of local populations and influence key policy makers on areas of common concern, such as the plight of laid-off H1B tech workers.

India and China also share interests on many key trade issues. Tariff barriers, access to developed markets, environmental policy and patent protection are major irritants in both countries' relations with the G8. India's extensive lobbying efforts in this regard have already started to yield positive responses, particularly in the field of pharmaceuticals. Coordinated efforts between the two countries could generate greater tangible success, with significant economic implications.

The two countries also have much to learn from each other as a result of the different development strategies followed by the two over the past fifty years. The spectacular advances in creating vertically integrated manufacturing industry in China serves as a powerful reminder for India the need to emulate it. The sluggish banking and insurance sectors are perhaps the biggest impediments to foreign investment in India. The import substitution and ‘chalet hay’ class domestic manufacturing, multiplicity and complexity of taxes, the high-handed bureaucratic handing of industries is still prevailing. This has not done much to convince foreign investors to come to India. China's record on poverty reduction and urban development presents a powerful model, which India would do well to follow. Infrastructure in cities such as Calcutta and Mumbai is hopelessly inadequate for a country with India's declared ambitions. There is growing recognition in India of the need to study China but it has not lead much beyond wishful pronouncement of turning Mumbai into Shanghai; easier said than done.

Similarly there are areas for China to benefit from India. India's powerful educated workforce includes many hundreds of thousands of potential teachers for China, in the fields of IT, telecom and biotech, not to mention the English language.

Before trade and political relations can truly develop between the two Asian giants, however, there have to be steps toward laying the foundations for greater mutual awareness and respect. China should remember that in early 50s India was one of the first and only countries to recognize the People’s Republic of China. Today Indians appear to be more obsessed with China than vice-versa. Time has come for Indians to get over its China phobia. Initiatives taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to have not spread to Ministry of Home Affairs and to other working bureaucratic fronts that the Chinese have to deal with. This would need some special initiative and intervention by the Prime Minister at the Cabinet Level.

It is not unfair to assert that both sides are relatively uninterested in each other. It is easier, for example, to fly from Calcutta to Europe or America, than to anywhere in China, even though the Chinese border is less than 600 miles away. There is little interest in either country to study the other's history, culture or languages. This however is a relatively recent trend; historically, interaction was strong, with pilgrims, explorers and traders from both countries crossing the Himalayas for centuries. Huang Tsang, a Chinese monk revered in India, travelled extensively through the subcontinent in the seventh century and references to him litter mediaeval Indian and European texts. Through Buddhist missionaries, there was extensive contact between the two societies, expanding into trade. Interaction started dwindling with the onset of the Moghal Empire. Once the British replaced the Moghal as rulers of India, colonial rivalries led to increasingly closed borders. British therefore created buffer states such as Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan.

Closer ties between India and China will not be achieved without opposition, visible or otherwise, from a few other countries. Pakistan, for one, would not be happy with closer ties between its "most important friend" and its "nemesis." The United States and other Western powers may also become uneasy with an alliance between two nuclear powers whose joint armed forces would in effect become the largest in the world. As noted earlier, the United States has embarked on a series of joint military and naval exercises with India and many observers have noted how China may have been a calculation in American motives.

What needs to change is the awareness of the importance of Sino-Indian ties. In China, perceptions of India at a common man level, where they exist at all, are primarily as a potential trade partner. Luckily there does not appear to be anything like the same degree of suspicion of India's motives among the population or in the media as is the case in India. The recent negotiated compromise on existing disputes has to be therefore highlighted widely.

One has to appreciate that the recently established formal alliance between India and China represents a third of humanity and is therefore enormous, for India and China, and indeed, for the rest of the world. Both India and China would have the responsibility to reassure their allies and observers that this strategic realignment would enhance global peace and more equitable economic growth without any global threat to others.

Himalayas or absence modern communication did not stop massive progression of Buddhist Philosophy in the Chinese continent almost replacing thoughts of Confucius. Why would it pose any challenge today?