Scaling The Great Wall

The sharp cracks of the 21-gun salute, which arbitrarily punctuated the Indian and Chinese national anthems being heartily interpreted by a Chinese military band, set the pigeons fluttering across Tiananmen square. Across the square, outside the Great Hall of the People, Presidents K.R. Narayanan and Jiang Zemin inspected a colourful guard of honour. A few curious passersby added to the crowd of dignitaries, officials, the media and the standard-issue group of rosy-cheeked Chinese children clutching the tricolour. The din and the crowd, however, could do little to mask the palpable personal chemistry between the two men as they walked the red carpet.

President Narayanan is no stranger to China. In 1976, he was sent in as the first ambassador to Beijing after the 1962 border war. And in October 1994, he visited the country as India's vice-president. Which was perhaps why almost every Chinese leader he talked to repeatedly referred to him as "an old friend of China and its people." But the apparent bonhomie and goodwill that permeated most of these talks failed to couch the subtle subtext of the visit. For, this time the Indian president proposed to bring up some hard truths before his old comrade.

One, he said, let us resolve the border dispute, fast. And two, while New Delhi had no problems about Beijing's long-standing 'all-weather' friendship with Islamabad, this should not be at India's expense. In reply, Jiang cautioned that while such adjustments were indeed necessary, these were historical disputes that needed time and patience to be resolved. In a marked departure from protocol, the Chinese foreign minister, Tang Jiaxuan, also attended the talks, which exceeded the scheduled two hours by at least half-an-hour and were described by both sides as "cordial and friendly."

According to V.K. Nambiar, the Indian ambassador to Beijing, the talks were significant simply because both sides articulated their views on the various disputes plaguing the two nations in a "friendly and informal" manner instead of the officialese that normally marks such enterprise. In fact, Jiang made several departures from his prepared speech and even spoke in English at times. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, Narayanan stressed the need to go into operational aspects in earnest and set up a framework for detente. He recommended the setting up of an 'Eminent Persons Group' comprising intellectuals and experts from both nations to help speed up the process of bilateral exchanges. While agreeing in principle with the idea, the Chinese president, however, pointed out that issues like the border dispute were complicated and could not be rushed. Instead, "from a strategic height, the two countries must work for constructive cooperation in the 21st century," he said.

Dismissing the boundary issue as a "small question", a former diplomat and an expert on the border dispute, Ye Zhengjia of the China Institute of International Studies, points out that "the Himalayas have ensured that no battle can be fought between the two great neighbours. Why not put such things on the backburner and concentrate on areas where we can cooperate?" Agrees Cheng Ruisheng, former ambassador to India and a member of the Chinese Institute of Contemporary International Relations, "Our common interests exceed our concerns". On the question of Sino-Pakistan relations, Cheng was more forthcoming: "India cannot expect us to give up our special friendship with Pakistan," he asserts. "But at the same time, New Delhi must understand that this friendship is not per se aimed against India. If that were the case, why would Beijing have rejected Nawaz Sharif's pleas of help during the Kargil crisis and taken India's side instead?" Adds Ma Jiali, his colleague at the Institute, "Pakistan is a good friend, India is a friend. We hope that in time, India too will become a good friend."

At Monday's official banquet held in honour of the visiting president, Jiang seemed to be in a visibly expansive mood, and could be seen in animated conversation with his Indian counterpart. Which was perhaps why vegetarians like Sushma Swaraj refrained from complaining about the fact that the banquet menu was purely non-vegetarian. Then, the very next day, came the curious incident of the excised paragraph. In the advance copy of the president's speech to the students of Peking university - to be delivered after unveiling a bust of Rabindranath Tagore - there was a fairly innocuous sentence justifying India's nuclear tests and its plans for a minimal nuclear deterrence. At the last minute, the entire paragraph was deleted following his instructions. Foreign ministry officials were hard put to explain this. "To be honest, we're trying to be sensitive to the Chinese. They didn't raise the nuclear issue at all during the talks since it's an issue where we still have no convergence of views. Instead, they preferred to talk about issues where there was some hope of common ground. So why should we raise it and spoil a perfectly good visit by the president?" asked an official.

The official also felt that unlike in the past (particularly right after India's nuclear tests), there were signs that the Chinese were slowly coming to terms with the idea of India being a de-facto nuclear power. "However, that doesn't necessarily mean that Beijing will suddenly change its position on UN Security Council article 1172, which calls for the immediate roll-back of India's nuclear programme. Nor does it mean that China will endorse India's bid for a permanent seat in a new UN Security Council. These things take time. The Chinese were taken aback by our tests, we must give them some time as well as the opportunity to change their position without losing face," he added.

According to Dr Wang Shuying, member of the Institute of Asia Pacific studies and author of over 15 books on Sino-Indian relations, the main problem between the two nations is neither the boundary question nor the nuclear issue, but India's asylum to the Dalai Lama. "Once that problem is resolved, the two nations can build upon their centuries-old friendship and become a force to reckon with in the international arena," he says. One way to ensure better mutual understanding is to develop trade ties. Chinese medicine, for instance, could become very popular in India, while Indian handicrafts and yoga would sell well in China, he adds.

A young Chinese foreign ministry official, however, seemed perplexed by India's "flip-flop" on the nuclear question. "We do not have a problem about India's tests, but to have done it at a time when the entire world, including India, was talking disarmament seemed a bit strange. And then, to blame China for it seemed even more bizarre. But it must also be noted that China refrained from raising the issue this time, which perhaps means that there is a now a deeper understanding of New Delhi's position," she added. She also wondered whether there was some significance to the fact that while there were at least six Chinese journalists based in New Delhi, there was only one Indian news agency representative in China.

In Beijing, among other senior Chinese leaders, Narayanan met National People's Congress chairman and former premier Li Peng, Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Li Ruihuan. From the Indian side, members of the official delegation included minister for heavy industries and public enterprises Manohar Joshi, members of parliament Sushma Swaraj, S. Ramachandra Pillai, Somnath Chatterjee and Sushil Shinde and former MP and patron of the India-China chamber of commerce and industry, Murli S. Deora.

"Two big nations aim to help world"

proclaimed a front-page anchor of the China Daily, referring to Narayanan's assertion at Peking university that Panchsheel, or the five principles of peaceful co-existence initiated by India and China, "should steer the globe." Also on the front page was another story quoting foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue as saying that the "very complicated border issue" needs "patience from both sides." While appreciating India's acknowledgement that Tibet was an inseparable part of China, she warned that Beijing "firmly opposes anyone using the 15-year-old Karmapa for separatist purposes," and that "China hopes that India'll keep to its commitments in not allowing any separatist activities on its territory."

On Wednesday, after a short ceremony where first lady Usha Narayanan released her translation of Burmese short stories by Thein Pe Myint, the president and his entourage left for the bustling industrial port city of Dalian. Dalian's mayor Bo Xilai - known for his skilful urban management and his penchant for controlling musical fountains from his office by remote control - and its governor, Zhang Guogang, widely tipped to replace Jiang Zemin, spared no efforts to outdo the rather formal banquet hosted by Jiang in Beijing. Dancers, acrobats, magicians and musicians vied for attention with the exotic 12-course meal, which comprised among other things, dishes like roast duck, deep-fried prawn and crab meat balls, lamb chops in herb sauce and steamed fresh fish. But once again, the only vegetarian item on the menu was assorted fresh fruits. But that did not spoil the mood, and the interest expressed in improving ties with India was quite overwhelming.

Indian officials in Beijing, however, while publicly expressing great satisfaction over the president's visit, privately admitted that it was too soon to expect dramatic changes in the relationship between the two nations. "It's a step in the right direction," said a senior officer, "but we still have a long, long way to go."