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There were no hugs and overt gestures of exuberance, but the trans-Himalayan handshake between viting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to have a firmer grip. And though what officials spoke of as the "chemistry" between Li and Singh was not quite apparent, what did come through was Li's obvious enthusiasm; the broad smiles, warm gestures and even breaking into English, in which he is fluent, clearly indicating the arrival of a new, more expressive generation in the normally staid upper echelons of the CCP hierarchy.
What has emerged from Premier Li's first visit abroad since he assumed office in March is that India and China have a new pragmatism in the way they handle each other. They air their divergences, try to deal with them, and move on to areas of convergence.
Singh emphasized that good bilateral ties were contingent on peace and tranquility being maintained on the border. After the recent face-off at Depsang, Singh and Li have urged their Special Representatives to work on the "lessons learnt" from the "unusual incident" in Ladakh and work to avoid such incidents in future, India's envoy to China S Jaishankar said after formal delegation-level discussions concluded on Monday. What was new, he said, was that such a "significant, substantive visit" actually took place so soon after troops of both countries faced off against each other along the disputed boundary, allowing the two leaders to hold such "candid" and "frank"discussions in a "cordial atmosphere" so soon after the event.
"The basis for continued growth and expansion of our ties is peace and tranquility on our borders," the Indian PM said. "While seeking an early resolution of the boundary question, Premier Li and I agreed that this must continue to be preserved," he said.
Li admitted there were "some problems" between the Himalayan neighbours, but said, "We need to confront various issues with a broad mind and conduct dialogue on those issues in a mature and sensible way." In a statement to the media soon after the two PMs concluded their formal discussions, Li said, "Both sides believe that, with regard to the boundary question, one that is leftover by history, the two sides have over time established the principles on this question." "We have worked together," Li said, "to maintain tranquility and peace on the border," adding that ""We need to appropriately handle our cooperation by maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas and on the trans-border river issues."
According to Jaishankar, the "strategic consensus" between the two countries which Li emphasized was agreement upon "the big and basic issues on how to take the relationship qualitatively forward."
The two SRs, India's National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi, are scheduled to meet in the next several weeks to take stock of the lessons learnt from the Chinese incursion into Ladakh and "consider further measures that may be needed to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border," Singh said.
Li and his delegation were "sympathetic" to Indian concerns about transborder rivers, particularly the dams being built on the Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo), which the Indian PM flagged. The mandate of the expert-level mechanism should be expanded to include information sharing on upstream development projects on these rivers, Singh urged, but the Chinese offered offered little beyond a strengthening of the existing ELM to monitor river flow volumes.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, however, did not figure in talks, because India responded to the initial Chinese proposal (sent of March 4, 2013) on May 10, barely a week before Li's visit, Jaishankar said.
However, "The two sides noted that enhanced interaction in the military field was conducive to building mutual trust and confidence," the joint statement issued at the end of Li's official discussions said. And though the two countries have faced problems in the South China Sea, where India is exploring for oil off the Vietnam coast much to Beijing's disapproval, India and China agreed to "further enhance bilateral cooperation on maritime security....oceanic scientific research....and to work together to tackle increasingly outstanding non-traditional security threats, and strengthen cooperation.....earnestly safeguarding security on international sea lanes and freedom of navigation," the joint statement said.
Thrashing out issues to spur the global economy and reduce imbalances in Sino-Indian bilateral trade, Singh and Li agreed that greater investment flows were a part of the solution. According to the Indian envoy, Li (who has studied economics and law) made "the most positive and practical suggestions" while responding to Indian concerns about the rising trade deficit with China. They also agreed to jointly develop large-scale cooperation projects in areas like infrastructure and industrial parks and infrastructure, and sought establishment of the BCIM, an economic corridor between Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar to improve market access.
Singh and Li discussed the unfolding situation in Afghanistan in considerable detail and found almost complete convergence in their vision for Afghanistan's future post the ISAF withdrawal in July 2014. Both have massive investments lined up in Afghanistan and "agreed that the Afghanistan issue concerns regional security and stability," the joint statement said. "As two important countries in the region, they reiterated their support for an 'Afghan-led, Afghan-owned' reconciliation process." India and China recently held their first round of discussions of the future of Afghanistan.
Li will travel to Pakistan after he visits Mumbai on Tuesday.
According to Xinhua, Li raised a six-point proposal on furthering bilateral ties when meeting with his Indian counterpart.
Firstly, China and India should strengthen strategic communication to increase political mutual trust, said Li. Secondly, they should advance pragmatic cooperation and deepen convergence of interests. Thirdly, the two countries should enhance cooperation in defense to increase mutual trust in security affairs, said the Chinese premier. Fourthly, the two sides should expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual understanding. Fifthly, the two Asian neighbors should care for each other's concerns, properly handle sensitive issues, and continue to push forward negotiations on border issues so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in border areas. Sixthly, Li said, the two sides should cement cooperation in international affairs to safeguard their common interests.
Agencies add, India and China on Monday firmed up eight agreements to enhance cooperation in a range of areas including trade, culture and water resources.
Earlier in the day, Li had said peace and regional stability cannot be a reality without strategic mutual trust between China and India.
"The purpose of my current visit to India is three fold — to increase mutual trust, to intensify cooperation and to face the future," he said, adding that he hoped that the two sides would increase strategic mutual trust," he had said after inspecting a guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Nilova Roy Chaudhury is Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Review of Global Affairs