Friendship with China is unavoidable for India

The first informal summit in Wuhan spread over two days on July 27 and 28 between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has endeavoured to put the bilateral relations on an even keel between the two major Asian neighbours. It has sought to activate mechanisms for dialogue which had inexplicably been side stepped.

The significance of this one-on-one meet, which commenced after careful preparation, cannot be undermined as it called for returning to the negotiation table for finding a mutually acceptable solution to seemingly intractable problems. It would have been naive to expect any major breakthrough on the contentious issues. What is noteworthy is that apart from the short 1962 Sino-Indian war, such a situation has been kept at bay.

The focus was on expanding bilateral relations by trying to overcome the irritants by narrowing the areas of differences. The face-to-face between the two leaders has been in the pipeline for nearly a year. There is no doubt relations between the two nuclear countries has been under considerable strain since the 2017 military stand-off at the Doklam trijunction with the verbal exchanges further straining the ties.

The statement issued by the two sides after the discussions spread over ten hours brings to the fore the divergence of views between New Delhi and Beijing on a host of bilateral, regional and international issues. Under the circumstances ways need to be found to overcome the friction between two nations on various fronts.

This is difficult to manage when it comes to rising powers. India and China need to steer clear of adopting adversarial positions. It is in this context that ensuring peace and tranquillity on the border assumes importance with barely a year left for the general elections in this country in 2019 particularly for the Modi government.

For the BJP led NDA at the Centre, an unsuccessful China policy can cost it dear at the hustings. This is particularly so as its approach towards Pakistan inevitably remains a blow hot, blow cold affair. Modi has failed in pursuit of his "Neighbourhood First" policy soon after becoming Prime Minister in May 2014. He cannot afford a failed China initiative which can provide an opening to the Opposition to attack the BJP.

Apart from being India's largest trading partner, friendship with China is unavoidable considering its economic and geopolitical clout. Since December last year both sides made efforts to stabilise the ties. First the two foreign ministers met followed by the Chinese State Councillor and the National Security Advisor in New Delhi in December last year.

Two months later, in February this year Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visited Beijing followed up in quick succession by External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman preparatory to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in June.

Much ground was covered encompassing bilateral, regional and global issues by the two leaders even though the conversations were unstructured. Bilaterally it was decided to issue "strategic guidance to the two militaries to strengthen communication" for avoiding another Doklam like confrontation.

It was agreed to prune the burgeoning balance of trade deficit of $ 52 billion by encouraging agricultural and pharmaceutical exports to China. After the summit, both sides issued their own statement about their perceptions and expectations.

On the bilateral front Modi and Xi decided "to issue strategic guidance to their militaries to strengthen communication" with the specific intent of avoiding another Doklam like situation arising. The directions had to be clear leaving no room for ambiguity or confusion. The two leaders also discussed a joint project in Afghanistan, the modalities of which is expected to be worked out later. This economic endeavour can lead to altering perceptions in the region.

As to the irritants in the relationship with China blocking India's membership of the NSG or the UN's terror designation of the Pakistan based groups as well as India's opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative or its use of the Tibet issue, the existing mechanisms of dialogue will be strengthened, not allowing broader bilateral movement to be hit.

Keen China watchers believe stability in the region is essential as the two countries seek to arraign a role for themselves in the global arena. With both New Delhi and Beijing recognising the importance of controlling the local military stand-offs, it is necessary for them to update the 2013 border defence cooperation agreement along with setting up the hotline.

Refreshingly, the conciliatory approach adopted by both sides compared to the last three years when such a meeting was overshadowed by a military stand-off or a calculated Chinese army intrusion.

The message from Wuhan this time around is to resolve differences peacefully through prolonged dialogue. It comes at a time when the US is talking about protectionism and threatening an all out trade war with China. New Delhi has given enough indications that it is willing to address Beijing's concerns on issues like Tibet and the Dalai Lama.

The MEA's statement observed "the simultaneous emergence of India and China as two large economies and major powers with strategic and decisional autonomy has implications of regional and global significance".

Beijing will also have to demonstrate it will not use its all weather friend Pakistan to create problems for India. The Chinese maintain that the Wuhan discussions has committed the two countries to manage bilateral relations in a manner that creates conditions for an Asian century.