N-energy, UN: China and India signal friendship, not rivalry

BEIJING, JANUARY 14: Seeking hard to drive home the point at the highest level that India and China are not rivals but partners, Beijing today took an incremental step forward endorsing New Delhi’s aspirations both in the civilian nuclear field and in obtaining a permanent berth in the United Nations Security Council.

Much of this had to do with the positive relationship Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao seemed to have struck over a period of time and also during the visit. Before entering the closed-door meeting with Wen, the Prime Minister is believed to have told him that he felt like he was dealing with family and that, somehow, it appeared that their ancestors may have been related. It’s learnt that Wen immediately held his hand and told Singh that he treats him like his “elder brother”.

Last evening at a private dinner, both leaders struck a similar chord. Singh, in fact, admitted that there was “a meeting of minds” during the dinner which set the stage for the official bilateral interaction. For his part, Wen said: “We should not ask any longer who will outdo who.”

So, from an understanding to consider cooperation in the civilian nuclear sector when Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India in November 2006, China took a more definitive step today with the India-China “Shared Vision” document stating that both countries “pledge to promote cooperation in civil nuclear energy”. The two countries also agreed to view this cooperation in the context of climate change and increasing non-polluting sources in the energy mix.

As India prepares to approach the Nuclear Suppliers Group soon, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said this understanding would have a positive impact. “China is a member of the NSG and we hope this will have implications on its approach there. However, we are not yet approaching friends for support in the NSG,” said Menon.

Similarly, China this time agreed to specifically mention the UN Security Council while reaffirming its stated position of endorsing India’s aspirations at the international stage. “The Chinese side understands and supports India’s aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations, including in the Security Council,” stated the vision document.

Though the forward movement is subtle and incremental, Menon said this was an encouraging sign and sought to infer the statement as moving closer to supporting India’s key aspirational goals. He added there was a clear indication that Beijing was willing to take the relationship to a “new stage”.

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