Pranabs’ China Visit
Sunday, 8th June, 2008
Visit External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee’s four day visit to China began on Wednesday. Bilateral trade has increased rapidly in a couple of years and has presented a lot of business opportunities to both the countries that they can find in each other. Both are the most populous counties of the world and there are many areas in which they by helping each other can get innumerable benefits. The innovation of India and capacities and capabilities of China can dominate the world trade.
Expected Issues It is expected that border disputes and trade will be the central issues that will be discussed by both of the countries. Both the countries have disputes over some border areas since 1950 and have fought a war against each other that kept them away from each other for many decades. It is expected that both sides will discuss the boundary row and the irritants surrounding the border. Focus of the discussions will be to how to restore peace across the border. As border row is a very complex issue, it will take a very long time to get solved. On trade issues we can expect some new agreements signed that will boost the trade between both countries.
Immense Possibilities Both the countries have many areas in which they can invest and help each other. In a very short span of time trade between both the countries have increased beyond expectations. India and China are world’s largest and fastest growing economies having immense demand for consumption goods, as well as a wide range of industrial raw material, energy and capital goods. India is a super power in information technology and China’s relative advantage in hardware manufacturing if combined can produce a new synergy. Business opportunities have forced both of the countries to focus on the business opportunities that they see in each other rather than the border disputes that have kept them away from each other for so many years.
Future Mutual mistrust has kept both the countries away rather than the border issues. This kind of issues can only be solved through long term discussions that usually span over years of time. As India and China are fastest growing economies they can help each other a lot that will boost both the economies and speedup the growth rate. If both the countries want to attain their economic goals they must not allow the borders to work like barriers against economic cooperation.

