Indian policemen detain a Tibetan youth activist during a protest to highlight Chinese control over Tibet
Indian and Chinese troops faced off along their Himalayan border yesterday as the countries’ leaders held a rare meeting in New Delhi, promising to boost economic cooperation and substantially increase Chinese investment in India’s infrastructure.
The long-festering border dispute is a stark reminder of the complicated relationship between the two Asian giants as they try to increase trade and investment.
After talks that lasted more than two hours, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said peace and stability along the border were necessary for economic growth and development in the region.
India’s worries about the frequent standoffs on the border came up at the meeting.
“I raised our serious concerns over repeated incidents along the border,” Modi told a news conference, with Xi by his side.
Suspicions between the two countries — which between them have 2.6 billion people — date from a monthlong border war in 1962 that left about 2,000 soldiers dead. That conflict ended in a standoff with each side accusing the other of occupying its territory.
This week, Indian officials said Chinese soldiers had entered Indian territory in the Ladakh region in Indian-held Kashmir and appeared to be building a road in the region.
Although the border dispute appeared to cast a shadow over the talks, the two sides also clinched several agreements. They decided to begin discussions on civil nuclear energy and signed a five-year economic and trade development plan. They also agreed to set up two Chinese industrial parks in India, and China promised to invest USD20 billion in Indian infrastructure over the next five years.
“We can bring prosperity to Asia, and we can create opportunities for the world,” Xi said of the growing relationship between the two countries.
In a significant concession, China agreed to allow the opening of a new, more accessible route to Kailash Mansarovar, a Hindu pilgrimage site located in the high Himalayas.
The two leaders also discussed a China-led proposal to develop an economic corridor that would link Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar.
Trade between the countries totaled more than $70 billion in 2013. But India’s trade deficit with China is about $40 billion and there are fears it could grow if China uses India to sell cheap manufactured goods in the future. The countries have set a trade target of $100 billion by 2015, but both sides still need to iron out wrinkles in their trade and tax policies to help achieve that goal. Nirmala George, New Delhi, AP
Dalai Lama casts a shadow
In a major embarrassment to the Delhi police, dozens of Tibetan protesters, mostly women, managed to stage a noisy protest outside the building where Xi and Modi began their meeting.
The protesters shouted “China: Hands off Tibet!” as police grappled with them, shoving them into buses.
Tibetan protests against China are common in India, and often increase during visits by Chinese leaders. The presence in India of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, remains a major irritant for China. India has allowed the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in the 1950s following a failed uprising in Tibet, to set up a government in exile in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala.
The Dalai Lama said yesterday that China could learn from India on how different ethnic and religious groups can live in harmony.
No Comments