China and India sign 'landmark' border pact

To ease LAC tension * 8 more agreements signed * PM takes up stapled visa issue with Li * Cooperation agreement will help nations manage disputes

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Beijing on Wednesday. 

Beijing, October 23,2013  (TNP) - China and India made a major step forward in their ties on Wednesday with an agreement on border defense cooperation and measures to promote regional economic integrity.

The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was among the nine pacts the two countries signed here at the conclusion of talks between the two sides led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang.

After witnessing the signing of the border agreement with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, Premier Li Keqiang said at a news conference that they believe "the two countries have more common interests than disagreements".

The two countries have the ability to manage border disputes, Li said.

Singh said the agreement "will add to the existing instruments to ensure peace, stability and predictability on our borders".

Qu Xing, president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the agreement is a "landmark" legal document to regulate the behavior of both sides and will help eliminate potential misunderstanding and misjudgment.

Beijing and New Delhi have successfully put the border situation under control and properly handled the latest ups and downs, Qu said.

China and India held the fourth round of a consultation and coordination meeting on border affairs in Beijing late last month.

Meeting Singh on Wednesday, President Xi Jinping told him that they should further manage disputes so that the China-India relationship would "correspond to the revitalization process of the two countries".

Hu Shisheng, director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said, "Both governments have a strong consensus in ensuring the tranquility of the border, and leaders of both sides are also clear that they want to eliminate disturbance from sensational media reports about the border issues."

A memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on cross-border rivers was also signed.

China will enhance cooperation with India on infrastructure construction, including railways, to push forward the development of the BCIM Economic Corridor, involving Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar.

"The first meeting of the working groups from the four countries will be held in December" to study the detailed plans of constructing the economic corridor, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Beijing and New Delhi have set up working groups and the Chinese group visited India this month.

"The project will be a defining factor of the following decade," Hu said, adding that the two countries, as the important poles of the mega-project, should take advantage of the economic corridor.

The Prime Minister also met President Xi Jingping, who underscored the need for the two countries to charter a course for the future need to stand tall and look far.

The Prime Minister invited Xi to visit India, while the Chinese President promised to take New Delhi’s concern on river water into account from a human angle. China’s assistance to Pakistan was also brought up during the meetings with the two Chinese leaders.

Underscoring the significance of Prime Minister Singh’s visit, Premier Li noted that this was the first time since 1954 that exchange visits of Prime Minister of India and Chinese Premier took place within the same calendar year.

Prime Minister Singh and Premier Li mentioned that both sides had agreed to strengthen strategic communication at all levels, including on shared neighbourhood in order to build mutual trust.

The liberalised visa regime that would have enhanced extended period of stay for business visitors was put on the hold by India to convey its unease over the decision to give stapled visas to two archers from Arunachal Pradesh recently.

India did not allow the sportspersons to take part in the event in China and raised the issue during the talks today. But having placed the issue on the table, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said it would remain in discussion.

Asserting Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country, India felt the state cannot be discriminated against by such a policy which China felt was a practice followed by countries in some cases.

Through the Memorandum of Understanding on trans-border rivers pertaining to Brahmaputra or Yaluzangbu, as the Chinese call it, both agreed to extend the hydrological data provision period during flood season in China from May 15 to October 15, instead of existing start period of June 1 each year.

The two will further strengthen cooperation and cooperate through existing Expert Level Mechanism on provision of flood-season hydrological data and emergency management. India has expressed concerns over China’s plans to construct a series of dams across the river as an upper riparian state.

Manmohan Singh said Premier Li was receptive when he expressed concern about the unsustainable trade imbalance and explore avenues to bridge the gap.

India agreed to take forward the suggestion by Premier Li for setting up an industrial park to attract investment from China to India.

India faces an adverse trade balance of up to 42 per cent while bilateral trade touched $ 62 billion last year as against the 2015 target of $100 billion.

Around the time the two leaders were meeting, CEOs Forum of India and China were engaged in a discussion in an adjoining room of the Great Hall of the People. Besides, both countries envisage further discussion on concept of alignment of the ambitious BMIC (Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and China) economic corridor.

Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Ahluwalia said besides understanding on water efficiency, railway modernisation was being looked at as an idea including technology for heavy haul of freight and increasing speed of trains.

China and India also agreed to study the potential for a bilateral regional trade arrangement, and said a bilateral strategic and economic dialogue will be held in November or December.

Liu Xiaoxue, an expert on Indian economic studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said a greater degree of openness between the two huge emerging economies will help fully tap potential.

"China and India have a population of 1.3 billion and 1.2 billion respectively, and if they fully open their markets to each other, we will both survive," Liu said.

The leaders also discussed the construction of a Chinese industrial park in India to ease the trade imbalance.

India should accelerate infrastructure construction to "help attract investors, especially the world's leading manufacturers", Liu said.

This will help eliminate India's huge trade deficit against China, Liu said.

Singh arrived in Beijing on Tuesday night for a three-day visit.

The Indian prime minister will deliver a speech at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Thursday.

What They Agreed On:-

• Trans-border rivers, with China sharing hydrological information on the Brahmaputra;
• Independent foreign policies with other countries not to become a source of concern for each other;
• Expediting efforts to conclude a framework agreement for setting up industrial zones;
• China willing to expand its foray in infrastructure development, including railways, in India.