Respect India's national pride : Chinese media

Underlining that China's 'surrounding environment' will suffer if India becomes another Japan or Philippines in confronting it, Chinese media on Monday called for understanding and respect for 'Indian sense of national pride'.A As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang kicks off second day of his India tour, the Chinese official media is full of reports and analysis of Sino-India ties with one tabloid daily, the Global Times, came out with editorial, saying that 'Sino-India ties transcend media hype'. "There are many weaknesses in the bilateral relationship which can be exploited by outsiders. Without mutual respect, small frictions can be exaggerated," it said, apparently referring to a recent military standoff at the Daulat Beig Old in Ladakh area after Chinese troops intruded 19 km inside Indian territory.

"The Indian sense of national pride is very strong but Chinese society doesn't want to adapt. Chinese people lack understanding and respect toward India. They tend to judge it according to ill-conceived preconceptions," it said. "However, China's surrounding environment will suffer if India, a country which has the prospect of running neck-and- neck with China, becomes another Japan or Philippines in terms of its policies toward China," it said, noting that the situation at the Sino-Indian border is much better than the disputed islands with Japan or South China Sea, where Beijing is locked up in maritime disputes.

However, the relationship is at its best period in decades despite mutual suspicion. "Both China and India should bear the primary responsibility for cultivating the bilateral relationship. They should create more 'good news' to counter media hype. Not only determination, but also wisdom is needed to develop Sino-Indian strategic ties," it said.

"Grumbling about media coverage doesn't help. Governments should also play a role in guiding public opinion," it said. Referring to Li's choice to make India the first stop of his maiden foreign tour, it said, "His selection of India for his first overseas trip has widely been interpreted as a sign that China is attaching greater importance and respect to this large neighbour".

'Chindia' products Backing India's demand to provide greater access to Indian IT products to address the trade imbalance, Chinese analysts have suggested "Chindia" products, combining Beijing's manufacturing might with New Delhi's expertise in software sector.

"China's strength in manufacturing, if supported by India's software, will create shining prospects for the two countries in advanced manufacturing, especially in intelligence," said Hu Shisheng, Director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceania Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. "China-India cooperation can also be conducted in many sectors, including new energy, materials, resource conservation and environmental protection," he told state-run China Daily on Monday.

"India is well developed in services, including IT and software, and the future is promising for the two countries to set up joint ventures and increase mutual investments as well as trade in services, which will ease trade imbalances," he added. (Agencies)

27 years later

China's Li Keqiang, who chose India for his first foreign visit as premier, gave a personal touch to the relationship between the two nations, saying "the seeds of friendship were sown in my own youth". The Chinese premier, while addressing a 100-member Indian youth delegation at Zhongnanhai, the imperial gardens housing the headquarters of China's ruling Communist Party and central government on Wednesday, spoke warmly about his visit to India 27 years ago as leader of a youth delegation. The fond memories from that visit also made him choose India for his first overseas visit, he said.

On his visit to India over two-and-a-half decades ago, he said: "What I saw and felt during that trip, visiting the Taj Mahal and prestigious Indian universities, research institutes, and the warmth and hospitality of the Indian people, left a lasting impact on me." "Together we can raise the standing of Asia in the world and truly make the Asian economy an important engine for the world economy," Li said. "The linkage of our two vast markets will bring tangible benefits to people in both the countries and provide a strong impetus for world economic growth and prosperity as well as that in Asia," he added.

Fifty-seven-year-old Li, an English-speaking bureaucrat, who took over from Wen Jiabao, was elected by about 3,000 deputies of the National People's Congress, known as the rubber stamp Parliament for routinely endorsing the decisions of the ruling Communist Party of China. Li is ranked No 2 in the CPC hierarchy, after Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Li's name was proposed by Xi, who is also the general secretary of the CPC besides the chief of military. Li won 99.7 per cent of the 2,949 votes counted, with just three votes against him and six abstentions. However, unlike his predecessor, Li is ranked higher in the CPC, which gives him far more political clout than Wen, 70, who was ranked third in the party after Wu Bangguo, the outgoing head of the NPC. Under Xi's leadership, the order is reversed as the premier is ranked higher than the new NPC Chief Zhang Dejiang.