AMBASSADOR DR. S. JAISHANKAR’S SPEECH AT THE INDIA-CHINA DEVELOPMENT FORUM ON MARCH 30, 2010
03/30/2010
Ambassador Dr. S. Jaishankar’s speech at the India-China Forum at Jianguo Hotel on March 30, 2010
I am very pleased to join you all this morning at this event to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic ties. Let me thank the State Council Information Office, the China International Publishing Group, China.org.cn and the China Development Gateway for making this possible. The involvement of respected Chinese personalities associated with the EPG gives it added weight
2. The two themes for this conference are (a) the role of the media in our relations and (b) the prospects for our economic cooperation. That in itself is a change from the past and signifies the broadening of our relationship.
3. The attitude of the media in both countries to the relationship was a subject of debate, particularly last year. Some of the media portrayal in India got our Chinese friends a little excited. I must add that there were Chinese media commentaries as well that did not help. There is little point in getting into a blame game. Therefore, let me make two constructive points on this occasion. One, we need to understand each other better. Chinese must appreciate that Indian society verbalizes its thought processes. They should, therefore, not get fixated with the debate but assess the outcome. No doubt, China too has its own debates. Two, image and reality are connected to a great degree. The more energetic we are in advancing the relationship, the better media coverage we are going to get. Certainly, the process can be assisted by more effective explanations.
4. On our economic prospects, this is still a relatively new area of our relationship. For China, there are large consumer and infrastructure demands in India that represent opportunities. For India, our focus today is on IT, engineering, pharmaceuticals and agro-exports. The trade imbalance has been a concern because it is perceived as reflecting market access. We have been assured that China will strive to buy more from India and expect to see progress this year. The execution of infrastructure projects in India by Chinese companies also raised issues that are now in the process of being resolved. The bottom line is that we can grow best when we grow together.
5. India-China relations are rapidly maturing. From limited contact, we have moved in the last two decades to a much wider engagement. Today, the challenge is to go beyond transactions to relationships. To do that, we must show sensitivity to each others’ concerns even while we interact with greater candor and openness. The 60th anniversary of our diplomatic ties is an appropriate occasion to resolve to do so.
Thank you for your attention.
Source: http://www.indianembassy.org.cn/newsDetails.aspx?NewsId=76