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Li's visit: Will China give up its border bhaigiri?
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visit to India, starting on Sunday, to break new ground amid recent border stand-off, could also focus on the need for settlement of border dispute besides boosting trade, Chinese analysts said in Beijing
It may not be a breakthrough trip for the border dispute settlement but could be the one to emphasise on the need for an early resolution and improvement of relations, they said.
"China has resolved border dispute with 13 of its 14 neighbours, including Russia, leaving India the only country to settle such a problem. China and India have to come to terms to resolve it, the legacy left by British", Victor Gao Zhikai, noted Chinese current affairs commentator and Director China National Association of International Studies said in Beijing.
Li, who will be travelling with a large business delegation, is due to visit both New Delhi and Mumbai.
He is scheduled to address first CEO Forum of the two countries during which he is expected to announce new initiatives to boost bilateral trade and to provide more access to Indian goods to Chinese markets to reduce the nearly $30 billion trade deficit.
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Li's visit: Will China give up its border bhaigiri?
Gao, who was the translator for China's moderate leader Deng Xiaoping whose opening up of ideology transformed China, said Beijing managed to settle the land border even with Vietnam even though there is still dispute about the islands in the South China Sea.
This means from China's point of view, India stands out with the dispute raring its head causing problems between the two countries.
"Chinese leadership believes that both countries should not get caught in the quagmire and come out early", Gao said adding that the two countries should come to terms with it sooner or later.
He said there was economic benefits that would follow such a settlement with new opportunities for railway and energy links.
There could be railway links connecting both the countries through Tibet, and China could export across the border to mitigate power crisis in India, Gao said.
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Li's visit: Will China give up its border bhaigiri?
He pointed out that $66 billion trade last year between the two countries is only tip of the iceberg and the border settlement could open-up the flood gates.
But at the same time, he believes Li's visit would be not be confined to issues relating to border row but would also aim at boosting trade and economic ties keeping the issue on the sidelines, he said.
"The more we cooperate, we benefit and the more we are bogged down, we will suffer. His visit is an indication demonstration of China's willingness to make great efforts to engage India. This is very bold step for leaders of both the countries", Gao said.
India and China have held 15 rounds of the talks on the border issue. India asserts that the border dispute covered about 4,000 km, while China claims that it confined to about 2,000 km to the area of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers as Southern Tibet.
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Li's visit: Will China give up its border bhaigiri?
Other Chinese experts praised India and China for resolving the recent stand off at the Daulat Beig Oldi (DBO).
"The peaceful settlement of this crisis is within expectations, as China and India have developed a relatively mature mechanism to respond to such emergencies", Sun Shihai, an expert on Indian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said.
Sun said that resolving the border issue will be difficult because the disputed area is large, but maintaining peace and stability in the region conforms to the mutual interest of both countries.
Qian Feng, Executive Director of the state-run Chinese Society of South Asia, in a detailed commentary on the DBO incident, warned that India and China may see far more serious incidents than the just ended stand off at Depsang valley.
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Li's visit: Will China give up its border bhaigiri?
Pei Yuanying, a former Chinese ambassador to India said resolving the Sino-Indian border dispute needs time and patience.
Fu Xiaoqiang, a researcher from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations said though it took a relatively long period to resolve the standoff, and it showed that the two sides have the capability to handle border disputes.
Han Hua, director of the Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament at the School of International Studies affiliated with Peking University, said the withdrawal came as no surprise.
"Last fall's leadership transition in China was another turning point. The new leadership adjusted its policies and now seeks a stabilised relationship with India," Han said.
"The grand strategy of China is to avoid troubled relations with its neighbours. Given current rows with Japan over the disputed Islands, there is no reason to start another row," he said.