The good news for Manmohan Singh is that China is fully aware of India’s growing power potential on the world stage and the new strategic options it has begun to develop with the US and Japan. The bad news, however, is that China is as equally conscious of the UPA government’s internal weakness and its reluctance to take bold foreign policy decisions. The PM will have to convince his Chinese interlocutors that despite the current confusing domestic debate on foreign policy, India has the will to relentlessly pursue its national interest.

Although the boundary issue has been pushed onto the backburner during the PM’s visit to Beijing, it is necessary for Manmohan Singh to reaffirm the importance of an early resolution of the boundary dispute. He must unambiguously convey to the Chinese leaders that any expectations of further territorial concessions from India are entirely unrealistic.

It is equally important for the PM to demonstrate India’s commitment to a new relationship with China by removing many of the current obstacles in New Delhi — including ridiculous visa procedures for Chinese visitors and businessmen. India must stop seeing China as one big black box, develop a differentiated view of its internal structures, and nurture a broad range of Chinese constituencies by giving them a stake in cooperation with India.

Nuclear partnership

In Beijing, the PM will have to respond to the Chinese desire to put some meat on the bones of the proclaimed strategic partnership between the two countries. As the regional and global interests of China and India grow alongwith their economic weight, there will be many new areas cooperation as well as conflict.

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