The Hindu : Communist Party of China for close ties with India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 25, 2003

International

International - India & World

Communist Party of China for close ties with India

By P.S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE JULY 24. A top official of the governing Communist Party of China (CPC) has affirmed that China's friendship with Pakistan would "not deter'' Beijing from developing its ties with India. Exuding sentiments of goodwill towards New Delhi, the CPC has indicated, too, that it is counting on the possibility of Sino-Indian cooperation to "counter'' the "unilateralism'' of the United States in world politics.

Outlining the new zone of China's interactive relationship with India, Wu Guanzheng, ranking member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, told a visiting delegation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Beijing today that a guiding principle was not to let history "interfere'' with the present or the future on the bilateral scene.

Mr. Wu's observations on the Kashmir issue acquired unusual political significance, given the fact that a Jammu and Kashmir legislator, Yusuf Tarigami, is a member of the CPI(M)'s goodwill delegation, headed by Sitaram Yechury, party's politburo member. Hari Singh Kang, the other member of the CPI(M)'s team, also participated in the dialogue.

Expressing the hope that India and Pakistan would be able to resolve the Kashmir dispute on a bilateral basis, Mr. Wu is understood to have underlined that China's friendship with Islamabad would neither determine nor deter the course that Beijing and New Delhi could take to expand their traditional ties. The growing importance of Sino-Indian interactions was being seen by China as an aspect, too, of the multilateral efforts needed to meet the unilateral approach of the U.S. on the world stage.

As for some key issues in the Sino-Indian bilateral domain itself, Mr. Yechury said after the meeting that Mr. Wu had expressed satisfaction that India had now made its position "abundantly clear'' as regards the status of the Tibet Autonomous Region as an integral part of the People's Republic of China.

On Sikkim, Mr. Wu pointed out that China had now recognised Nathula Pass as a new point for "cross-border trade'' with India. With reference to the Sino-Indian border dispute, the CPC leader emphasised China's preference for continued talks.

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