New Delhi
3 August 2009
India and China will seek to de-escalate the recent tension in their ties, when
Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo arrives here on Thursday for talks with National
Security Adviser MK Narayanan.
The two will meet on August 7 and 8 for the 13th round of the boundary talks, but the
focus will be equally on other connected issues such as maritime cooperation, counter-
terrorism, climate change, and trade.
The Chinese side will comprise a large delegation of officials from various departments
and ministries, which is a departure from the previous rounds of talks between the two
special representatives.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said in Beijing that both sides will "also
exchange views on the development of Sino-Indian strategic and cooperative partnership
as well as international and regional issues of common concern."
Srikanth Kondapalli of the Jawaharlal Nehru University said there has been a lot of
escalation by both sides over the past year or more. Besides defence mobilisation, they
have sparred on Tibet, India-US nuclear deal, and Arunachal Pradesh.
"So this should be a crucial meeting where political confidence building measures will
likely get priority," he said.
An announcement on regional trading agreement is likely, but no breakthrough is
expected on the boundary issue. The Chinese will probe the Indian mind to understand
to what extent New Delhi would be willing to compromise.
According to Mohan Guruswamy from the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Beijing will try to
see what is the best possible deal under the circumstances, knowing there can be no
compromise by New Delhi on Tawang.
Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna has told the Rajya Sabha that India and China
seek a fair and mutually acceptable solution. "We have friendly relations .... We are
engaging in multilateral activities. Trade is growing and we would like this to continue,"
Krishna said.
The last round of boundary talks was held in Beijing in September 2008. The special
representatives were mandated in 2003 to resolve the boundary issue from a political
perspective.
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