Rajya Sabha-Big Picture
Big Picture- PM Modi’s China Visit-What are the takeaways?
- The India-China relationship is a “complex” one with the two Asian giants eyeing each other with suspicion.
- India and China have come up with some non-controversial “do-ables” taking into account their complementarities.This list provides a blue-print for stabilizing the relationship and adding the critical mass necessary for a takeoff in relations in the future when the time comes.
The Five major Takeaways are
- $22 billion in business-to-business pacts
- Military headquarters hotline connection
- Task force to counter widening trade deficit and market access issues
- Two dozen government to government pacts
- E-visa facility extended to Chinese nationals
- Indian and Chinese firms signed 21 agreements worth more than $22 billion in deals in areas ranging from telecom, steel, solar energy and films.
- Pending a resolution to their boundary dispute, India and China have decided to set up a hotline between the military headquarters of the two countries.
- The agreements were in the area of cooperation in skill development, railways, mining and minerals, broadcasting, tourism, ocean studies, establishing sister city relations and consulates in Chennai and Chengdu
- In a bid to boost tourism and advance people to people ties, Modi announced that India had decided to extend electronic visa on arrival facility to Chinese nationals.
- A strong partnership between China and India needs strong leadership from both countries. Luckily, both Xi and Modi are strong leaders and now have a good personal relationship to enhance strategic trust between the two giants.
Mains Question:
- “While the engagement of India and China seems strategic, it has enormous differences that goes beyond boundary issues and a healthy partnership by far, is a distant dream”. Do you agree?
- “China and India can never become strategic partners, whatsoever the engagements or talks are done away with”. Comment
