SPEECH BY PRIME MINISTER AT PEKING (BEIJING) UNIVERSITY
The Prime Minister
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed a gathering at the Beijing
University at Beijing today. Speaking soon after the inauguration
of Centre of Indian Studies at Beijing University, the Prime Minister
emphasised the need to carry forward the steps towards increasing
mutual trust and understanding between the two countries through
more intensive interaction. Referring to the Panchsheel Agreement,
Shri Vajpayee expressed the hope that with steadfast adherence
to the Five principles of peaceful coexistence and with respect
for equality, the two countries could put their differences firmly
behind them.
Following is
the full text of the speech of the Prime Minister on the occasion.:
"I thank
you for inviting me to speak today at this renowned centre of
learning. This premier University of China has had an eventful
history, including migrating over 3000 kilometres during the Second
World War to maintain its uninterrupted academic tradition.
You also have
a special connection with India. We are grateful to your University
for having sent Professor Tan Yun Shan to Shantiniketan many decades
ago. It was he who inspired our great poet Rabindranath Tagore
to set up the famous "Cheena Bhavan" in Vishwa Bharati
University, of which I have the honour to be the Chancellor.
Today we repay this
debt in some measure by pledging our support for a Centre for
Indian Studies in this University. I have just had the privilege
of inaugurating that Centre and of making a symbolical initial
donation to its library. My government is prepared to depute two
faculty members from India to the Centre. We have pledged to contribute
an amount of one million rupees annually for the first five years
towards its running costs. We can fund an annual scholarship at
an appropriate institute in India for a student of the Centre.
We are also offering an annual prize of a three-week visit to
India for the first-ranked student of the centre. I propose we
call this the Tan Yun Shan Award in memory of that modern-day
pioneer of India-China cultural understanding. We would be happy
to extend any other form of support, which the Centre may require.
Initiatives like
the Centre for Indian Studies are specially welcome as part of
our current effort to enrich the interaction between the India
and China of today. We are, of course, two of the world’s oldest
civilizations with contacts over at least two millennia. The Silk
Route connected us through commerce, but also by facilitating
the free flow of our music, our scriptures and our literature.
The message of the Buddha, transmitted from India, was received
by millions in China. Our maritime trade links kept us in close
contact and also created a confluence of our cultures with that
of South-East Asia.
But there were
periods in history when our civilizations went into an introspective
phase and lost regular touch with each other. In a later era,
both countries suffered from colonial invasions and deprivations,
which accentuated this trend. The shadow of the Cold War and the
consequent distortions of global international relations had its
impact also on India and China. From relative isolation from each
other, we went into a state of estrangement.
We have emerged
decisively from this dead-end of mistrust, already a few decades
ago. We have vigorously set about recovering our mutual understanding,
building a broad base for our cooperation and redeeming the promise
of our complementarities.
It is in this
task of recovering mutual understanding that the Centre for Indian
Studies can make a significant contribution. You have built up
an impressive scholarship in Indological studies, focussing mainly
on history, languages and literature. I would suggest that you
also strengthen your scholarship on modern Indian political, economic
and sociological studies. Distance encourages caricatures and
stereotyped images, based on old experiences. Academic exchanges
and contemporary studies help to bridge the gap of information
and perceptions. You can make your centre fulfil Lao Zi’s ideal
of knowledge and understanding:
"Without
stirring abroad
One
can know the whole world;
Without
looking out of the window
One
can see the way of heaven."
We know where we
have come from. Let us better understand each other as we are
today, and comprehend where we can go together in the future.
The better we understand each other, the more we can do together.
No objective analysis
can deny the combined strength and complementarity of an India-China
partnership:
- We are the two most populous countries
of the world,
- We have the two fastest growing
economies in the world – yours faster than ours. In any economic
forum in the world these days, the focus is on India and China.
- Both of us have continent-sized
markets, with the advantages of huge economies of scale.
- We also have the problems of continent-sized
countries – unequal development, a wide spread of income disparities,
and a potential digital divide. Exchange of developmental experiences
can be valuable.
- We are both at the forefront of
developing and applying the technologies, which drive the Knowledge
Economy.
- We have a harmonious balance
of strengths. India’s strengths in Information Technology, software
engineering, management and financial services are well matched
by the Chinese expertise in hardware, construction and industry.
- Both India and China were present
at the broader dialogue of developing countries with the G-8
countries in Evian earlier this month. I was struck by the congruence
in our positions. If we acted in concert, it would be very difficult
for the world to ignore us.
- India and China have frequently
reiterated their commitment to the development of a cooperative
multi-polar world order. In the complex international situation
of today, we have a role to play in helping to restore the authority
of the international organisations, which have been undermined
in recent months.
Our two countries
have been taking steps towards increasing mutual trust and understanding,
through more intensive interaction. In recent years, our cooperation
has greatly expanded and diversified. Our bilateral trade has
shot up from around 200 million dollars in the early nineties
to around 5 billion dollars. Indian business and industry have
overcome their initial cultural and commercial apprehensions of
Chinese business and are strengthening their linkages. The conclusive
proof of this is the size and variety of the business delegation,
which is here in China to coincide with the visit. It is also
noteworthy that Indian investment in China is nearly 65 million
dollars.
The India-China
dialogue already transcends bilateral relations to encompass international
issues such as terrorism, security, environment and sustainable
development. We have an increasing commonality of interests within
the World Trade Organization and overlapping concerns on globalization.
Our coordination and collaboration in various multilateral institutions
is expanding into newer and newer areas. A small, but important,
example of such effective joint action is our cooperative effort
to make the infrastructure lending policies of the World Bank
more rational.
But, as I have
said before, for two countries of our human resources, economic
strengths and technological skills, we have only scratched the
surface. Your senior leader Mr. Deng Xiaoping once said that the
21st century can only be the Asian century if India
and China combine to make it so. To do so effectively, we should
be conscious of our complementary strengths, resist contradictory
pulls, and deploy our resources in a mutually reinforcing manner.
Our trust and understanding should be able to withstand forces,
which seek to divide us.
I would like
to dwell in this context on what is frequently described as "rivalry"
between India and China. As two large developing countries at
roughly the same stage of development, sharing the same neighbourhood,
pursuing similar growth trajectories, with comparable economic
priorities and similar political ambitions, it is inevitable that
comparisons will be made between India and China. It is also an
unavoidable characteristic of human nature that there is always
a sense of competition between two close and equal neighbours.
But we need to
clearly understand the difference between healthy competition
and divisive rivalry. Even in the present-day world, you can find
examples of countries, which have maintained close political coordination,
strengthened their economic complementarities and harmonized their
international objectives, even while maintaining a healthy and
good-natured economic and commercial competition. The developing
world in general, and our two countries in particular, can benefit
greatly by absorbing the lessons from these experiences. We should
focus on the simple truth that there is no objective reason for
discord between us, and neither of us is a threat to the other.
These simple, but profound, principles should form the bedrock
of the future India-China partnership.
One cannot wish
away the fact that before good neighbours can truly fraternize
with each other, they must first mend their fences. After a hiatus
of a few decades, India and China embarked on this important venture
a few years ago. We have made good progress. I am convinced that,
with steadfast adherence to the Five principles of peaceful coexistence,
with mutual sensitivity to the concerns of each other, and with
respect for equality, our two countries can further accelerate
this process so that we can put this difference firmly behind
us. I am encouraged after my discussions with Premier Wen Jiabao
that both our countries see an opportunity to proceed along this
path.
It is a tryst
with destiny, which beckons to us. When we redeem it, we can truly
fulfil the ideal of close cooperation, described so colourfully
by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore :
"When daylight
breaks, we are free from the enclosure and the exclusiveness
of our individual life. It is then that we see the light,
which is for all men and for all times. It is then that we
come to know one another, and come to cooperate in the field
of life." India and China can create this destiny."
