Subcontinent Connections

　　China and its South Asian neighbors boost cooperation levels

　　In what the media described as “riverfront diplomacy，” visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi caught international attention as they took a riverbank stroll on September 17 in Gujarat. Wearing a traditional Indian vest presented to him by Modi， Xi， who was on his first state visit to India， talked with his host while they sat side by side on a swing chair as they visited a riverside park development project in Modi’s hometown.

　　Gujarat was the first leg of Xi’s three-day tour of India from September 17 to 19， following his visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka that began on September 14. Pakistan was also on Xi’s original itinerary， but the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on September 6 that the two countries had agreed to postpone the arrangement due to political unrest in Pakistan.

　　As China and India are currently the two most populous countries and two largest emerging economies in the world， observers said that Xi’s visit will upgrade the full-range bilateral engagement to forge a closer development partnership despite their border disputes. Meanwhile， they added that Xi’s South Asia trip embodies China’s efforts for the continued perfection of its diplomacy with neighboring countries.

　　Professor Jiang Jingkui， Director of the Center of South Asian Studies at Peking University， said that South Asia is a key part of China’s peripheral diplomacy featuring amity， sincerity， mutual benefit and inclusiveness.

　　Higher-level cooperation

　　During interviews with the press ahead of Xi’s arrival in India， Modi coined a new terminology to describe the potential of India-China relationship as “INCH (India and China) toward MILES (Millennium of Exceptional Synergy).” He said that every inch the two countries cover can rewrite history of humanity and every mile will go a long way in making this planet a better place.

　　Similarly， Xi has also stressed that if the “Chinese Dragon” and the “Indian Elephant” coexist harmoniously and realize peaceful， cooperative development， it will benefit 2.5 billion people in the two nations as well as those in other developing countries， and will have far-reaching effects in the region and the world as a whole.

　　Though there are widely known border disputes between the two countries， the top leaders of the two sides attach more importance to what bilateral cooperation could bring to both.

　　Chinese observers believe as China and India share similar national conditions and the same development goals， their common interests far outweigh their differences.

　　For the common goal of economic development， the two countries need each other mutually， Jiang said.

　　Jiang held that as China and India are respectively a global manufacturer and a major service provider， the mutual complementarity of the two economies provides great potential for them to jointly boost cooperation in trade， investment， financial services and new and high technologies.

　　Zhao Ruiqi， an associate professor at the Beijing-based Communication University of China， said that Modi’s ambition to stage India’s economic takeoff needs China’s help.

　　“As there are big differences among them， it’s hard for other Indian states to replicate Gujarat’s economic success story during Modi’s tenure as its chief minister from 2001 to 2014. The takeoff of the Indian economy requires cooperation with foreign economic powerhouses，” Zhao said. “Modi， who is known as a pragmatist and values China’s development experiences， naturally will not overlook opportunities to approach China.”

　　Professor Kishore Mahbubani， an Indian-Singaporean scholar and Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore， believes one factor will determine how soon India can become the world’s number two economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms—Will India work with or against China in its promising century？

　　In an article recently published on the website of the Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House， Mahbubani wrote， “Since India has already overtaken Japan to become the number three economy in the world， there is no reason why India cannot become number two in PPP terms…If it works with China， it will become number two much faster as there are many synergies in the relationship that can be exploited.”

　　Despite border disputes and security problems left by history， Fu Xiaoqiang， a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)， believes that China and India are placing each other in a more prominent position of their foreign strategies， maximizing common ground and minimizing differences. “The two countries are accumulating strategic mutual trust by strengthening cooperation in fields such as the economy and culture to pave the way for the final settlement of their differences，” Fu said.

　　There are also an increasing number of voices in India calling for border disputes to be shelved and seeking common interests between China and India. Many scholars claim that due to the various political， geographic and historical factors， it is not easy to find a quick-fix solution to border issues， but the two sides can focus on common development in the meantime.

　　In an interview with Shanghai-based news website The Paper， Swaran Singh， a professor at the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University， said India and China could gradually give up their fixed positions to resolve border issues in the light of development.

　　During Xi’s trip， The two sides also agreed that before border issues are eventually solved， joint efforts should be made to manage and control their disputes in a proper way and maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions.

　　Modi said that India is willing to work with China on border issues， advance their negotiations and find a solution at an early date. He also reiterated that India will not allow Tibetans to conduct anti-China political activities in the country.

　　In addition， the two Asian neighbors agreed on China’s investment in India’s railways and industrial parks， as well as measures to address their trade imbalance. China announced the target to increase its investment in Indian industrial and infrastructure projects to $20 billion in the next five years. The two sides agreed on cooperation to lift India’s train speed and jointly explore the ways to upgrade railway stations and develop high-speed railways in the country. The existing Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore railway line will be among the first to have the train speed increased， and the two countries will also launch training programs in heavy-haul transportation. Meanwhile， China promised to import more Indian pharmaceuticals and agricultural products that sell well in China in a bid to balance bilateral trade.

　　To further promote the two countries’ religious exchanges， the Chinese side announced the opening of a new route for Indian pilgrims to China’s Tibet Autonomous Region， for which the Indian side expressed its welcome and appreciation.

　　Neighborhood amity

　　Locations of the Maldives and Sri Lanka are critical for safeguarding the security of the sea lane of the Indian Ocean and energy resource transportation， according to Peking University’s Jiang.

　　Xi’s trip to the Maldives is seen as an epoch-making event in bilateral relations as it is the first time that a Chinese state head has visited the island nation in the Indian Ocean since the two established diplomatic relations 42 years ago. Actually， the two countries are enjoying increasingly close economic links. As the Chinese economy has grown rapidly in recent years and Chinese people have gotten wealthier， more and more Chinese tourists are choosing the Maldives as a major tourism destination. Statistics show that China has become the largest tourist resource country of the Maldives for four years in a row.

　　Observers noted that there is great potential for cooperation in fields such as the economy， trade and tourism between the two countries.

　　During Xi’s visit， the two sides agreed to build a future-oriented all-round friendly and cooperative partnership， in an effort to upgrade bilateral ties and promote the wellbeing of the two peoples. In a joint communique signed by the two sides on September 15， China promised to help the Maldives develop its tourism sector and encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in related projects， as well as provide financial support to the country’s infrastructure construction.

　　At present， China stands as the second largest trading partner and second largest source of imports of Sri Lanka. In 2013， trade between the two countries totaled $3.62 billion， up 14.3 percent year on year.

　　In their meeting in Colombo， Xi and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa underlined economy and trade， energy， agriculture， infrastructure construction and health as priorities of bilateral cooperation.

　　According to the Action Plan of China and Sri Lanka to Deepen the Strategic Cooperative Partnership signed during Xi’s visit， the Chinese Government assures financing support for infrastructure and development projects agreed upon by both sides in Sri Lanka on preferential terms.

　　China and Sri Lanka also announced the formal launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. According to a memorandum on the negotiations， the FTA will cover trade of goods and services， investment and economic and technological cooperation.

　　Ye Hailin， a researcher of South Asian studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， said that after ending its three-decade-long civil war in 2009， Sri Lanka has a particularly urgent need for economic development and achieving industrialization. “The China-Sri Lanka FTA is of great help for Sri Lanka to recover its economy and will facilitate Chinese enterprises’ entry in the market of Sri Lanka，” Ye told Beijing Review.

　　Both the Maldives and Sri Lanka said that China’s Maritime Silk Road initiative would bring their countries huge opportunities for development.

　　The Maritime Silk Road， by which the East-West trade flourished some 600 years ago， ran through the Yellow Sea， the East China Sea， the South China Sea， the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean toward the Korean Peninsula， Japan and Southeast Asian countries and even as far as countries in the South Pacific， South Asia and East Africa. China has proposed to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to benefit the economies of countries along the route.

　　Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed， speaker of the People’s Majlis， the unicameral legislative body of the Maldives， said that China understands what the Maldives really needs on the path of development， and has been pushing ahead with some major projects and provided the island countries with invaluable support and assistance.

　　President Rajapaksa stressed that China’s initiative echoes Sri Lanka’s idea of building a maritime shipping center in the Indian Ocean.

　　Community of interests

　　In India， Xi mapped out China’s future cooperation plan with South Asian countries. Xi pledged that China will work with regional countries to increase bilateral trade to $150 billion， raise its investment in South Asia to $30 billion and provide $20 billion in concessional loans to the region in the next five years. Moreover， China plans to offer 10，000 scholarships and training programs for 5，000 youths， and train 5，000 Chinese language teachers for South Asia in the next five years.

　　Observers said that all of the three South Asian countries Xi visited are pivot points of China’s “One Belt and One Road” initiatives (the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road). And through the “One Belt and One Road，” China has established historic ties and interwoven contemporary interests with the three countries.

　　Fu with the CICIR said that China is establishing a community of interests with neighboring countries through its own influence and economic weight， which provides these countries with an opportunity to ride on the fast train of China’s development to fulfill their own goals and will also promote the all-round cooperation with South Asia.

　　Besides the “One Belt and One Road” initiatives， China has also proposed the Bangladesh-China-India and Myanmar Economic Corridor as well as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. These initiatives envisage building major linkages of transport， energy and telecommunication networks in the region， encouraging road， rail， air and waterways connecting each other besides laying power transmission and oil pipelines. By expanding interconnection and deepening integration， it will promote the common development of the region and form a thriving economic belt.

　　According to Fu， the initiatives have provided platforms for regional cooperation that will also be conducive to advancing relations between China and South Asian countries.

　　By signing dozens of cooperative documents with these countries， Xi’s latest trip has charted a fresh course for regional cooperation based on the initiatives， Fu added.

　　By Yu Lintao

关注读览天下微信， 100万篇深度好文， 等你来看……