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DIPLOMACY:
LI PENG'S VISIT
On
The Mend
The visit
of the Chinese leader signals that Sino-Indian ties are almost on a pre-Pokhran
footing
In
diplomacy the Chinese love symbolism. So to show that relations
with India were on the mend they sent Li Peng, currently chairman of China's
National People's Congress, on a prolonged eight-day visit to India that
has him travelling as much across the country as US President Bill Clinton
did last March.
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| MAKING
UP: Li (centre) being welcomed by Balayogi in Delhi |
Indians
are more familiar with Li as the former prime minister of China. For it
was during his two contiguous tenures in that powerful post that India's
relations with China made rapid strides forward after years of misgivings.
In many ways he was the architect of the great leap forward in Sino-Indian
relations.
However,
the aftermath of the 1998 Pokhran explosion and the Indian diplomatic
gaffe of openly identifying China as the reason for ending its nuclear
ambiguity saw relations between the two countries turn acrimonious. China
launched a volley of harsh words against India in the UN and other fora.
Yet with India keen to make amends and China realising the practicality
of maintaining better bilateral relations, there has been significant
improvement in ties. The two sides have initiated the first-ever security
dialogue between officials and also taken big steps to solve the border
issue by exchanging maps. Li's visit is China acknowledging that relations
are almost back to pre-Pokhran days.
Given his
position-Li's Indian counterpart is Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi
who had invited him to India-there aren't going to be any major official
agreements being signed. Apart from the prime minister, he is meeting
a large number of key Indian politicians, senior officials and leading
businessmen. "Extensive" and "candid" are the words
that Li chose for the sort of talks he hopes to have with Delhi during
his visit. But on his first leg in Mumbai, with the issue of cheap Chinese
goods flooding the Indian market still rankling Indian businessmen, Li
got a lukewarm reception when he visited the Santa Cruz Electronic Export
Processing Zone on January 8. Despite being accompanied by a 120-member
delegation, interactions with business people do not form a major part
of his itinerary.
In Delhi
he was feted by Indian parliamentarians and was slotted to meet Prime
Minister A.B. Vajpayee after his return from Indonesia. After the mandatory
visit to Agra, Li will fly to Bangalore to see the Infosys campus. During
his trip, a new book which exposed embarrassing details of the role of
Chinese leaders, including Li, during the ruthless Tianamen Square crackdown
of 1989 was released in the US. Li maintained an inscrutable silence over
the affair. But in the end many would agree with Professor Manoranjan
Mohanty of the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi, when he says, "It
is an important visit." Most of all for the goodwill that Li brings
with him.
Ninad D. Sheth
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