Asia-Pacific

Old neighbors become new friends

By Ma Liyao (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-24 08:22

The two countries have a strong base and many opportunities to cooperate in various fields, Shanghai-based Kumar told China Daily.

"For example, China can contribute to India's infrastructure construction with its advances in the area, and India can also add value to China's IT industry."

However, there are still concerns, mainly regarding the imbalance in bilateral trade and investment, he added.

"China's exports to India covered around two-thirds of the total bilateral trade in 2010, and the gap is widening. It is not a good phenomenon in the long run. A similar situation is in mutual investment," said Kumar.

But the trend shows signs of changing.

"More Chinese want to invest in India now, which is a good sign," added Kumar.

Such prominent interaction and cooperation between these two large countries in economic affairs and global issues has attracted international attention, and has also aroused some concern.

Similarities in their history, stage of development, and their close geographic proximity often lead to comparisons of China and India in the media, which describe the two as "rivals".

The Indian media pays close attention to China's development, and often gets jittery on China's growth, especially military growth.

In a report on March 8 on China's construction of airbases near the border with India, The Times of India said: "India is now, albeit belatedly, trying to strategically counter China".

"Some countries are afraid of China and India getting closer, and wrong information about each other is spread in both countries in an effort to make Chinese and Indian people think getting closer is bad," said Madhav Das Nalapat, a professor of geopolitics at Manipal University in southern India.

The border issue has long been a sensitive topic between China and India.

The dispute is left over from the 19th century when India was under British control.

India and China gained a common border in 1826. British negotiator Henry McMahon drew a proposed boundary between China and India in 1913, but China objected to it.

Although India, which gained independence in 1947, was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1950, the two countries have been unable to resolve some territorial issues.

Indians argue that China claims the territory on the basis that it was under Chinese imperial control in the past, while Chinese say that India claims the territory on the basis that it was once under British imperial control.

The two countries have been discussing the issue for nearly three decades. "Concerns emerge on why this cannot be resolved after so much discussion," said Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

"This issue of the border dispute and military deployment breeds suspicion and mutual mistrust," he added, saying this will continue to affect bilateral relations for some time to come.