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Rupee News
Moin Ansari
Chindia, Chinapak or Chimerica?
New York, NY, United States, June 06 — Indiaus, Chindia, or Chinapak or Uspak? Are the zero-sum games of the Cold War over? India vs. China: who is winning? As Beijing prepares for the "Chinese century", many questions are unanswered. The end of an era, the shrinking superpower, the emerging quad led by China...should the world look toward the coming war between India and China or should it prepare for a multipolar planet? The conventional wisdom globally is that Pakistan is China’s Israel. Is that still valid?
The Chinese version of “speak softly and carry a big stick” was enunciated by the realist Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who said “Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.” Beijing has been silently building a big stick for the past six decades. The Chinese see the Hillary Clinton trip for what it is – begging Beijing to continue to purchase US Treasury bonds. India feels pained about this.
China has grown to be a new heavyweight player and has stepped into the limelight on the world stage. And its role in salvaging the plummeting world economy looms large and active. As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during her recent Asian tour, "The U.S. appreciates the continued Chinese confidence in the U.S treasuries." If the Cold War was a tug of war between East and West and a showcase of hard power, what we have today, for the first time in history, is a global, multicivilizational and multipolar competition, and a display of smart power. To be the winner, one has to seek cooperation rather than confrontation, a point made by Li Hongmei, a columnist for the People’s Daily Online.
Even though there is a broad consensus in Pakistan about the value of the Sino-Pakistan strategic relationship, every Pakistani government is accused of mismanaging the relationship with China. In researching the downfall of the metaphorical “Peking Man,” Dr. Farrukh Saleem, Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, has created a storm. Whether it is a tempest in a teapot or a tsunami remains to be seen.
We have two visions for China. In one vision, India thinks of China as its biggest threat. The other vision sees China and India working together. Since 1962, Indian politicians have considered China as its biggest threat. A search on Google with the keywords “China is India’s biggest threat” produces 1.2 million threads. Most recently, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major of the Indian Air Force made a remark that China has become a bigger threat than Pakistan.
Dr. Fakkukh Saleem, in a sensational article published in The News, has tried to highlight the future of Sino-Pakistan and Sino-Indian relations. Dr. Saleem bases his argument on the views of Dr. Zhao Gancheng and Dr. Yang Jiemian, two Chinese professors. Dr. Saleem presents the views of Dr. Daojiong, a very pro-American and pro-business Chinese professor, as evidence that China is reconsidering its relationship with Pakistan. There is nothing in the writings of either one of these authors that seem to suggest a zero-sum game in South Asia. The evidence seems to point to the exact opposite.
"In a Feb. 23 editorial, The People’s Daily addressed U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, with a focus on improving Pakistan’s position against India, saying, 'It is clear that without Pakistan’s cooperation, the US cannot win the war on terror. Therefore, to safeguard its own interests in the fight against terrorism in South Asia, the US must ensure a stable domestic and international environment for Pakistan and ease the tension between Pakistan and India.' This means supporting Pakistan’s position on Kashmir," said William Hawkins of Front Page Magazine.
This much is certain: the subject is an emotional issue for Pakistan. This will be discussed in detail in every nuance in Pakistani circles, as well as by Indian gloaters who think that their longstanding dreams have come true regarding the Sino-Indian relationship and Pakistan.
Ideas of Pakistan's Gwadar Port as China’s Gibraltar and China's billion-dollar port of Hambantota as Beijings’s Guantanamo defies India in the area of the oceans. An investigation is in order. At Rupee News, we scrutinized the issue and wrote to Dr. Daojiong. We could not find an iota of evidence of a shift in Chinese policy towards Pakistan.
It is pedagogical to note that a lot of water has gone down the Indus since 2005. Many Chinese leaders have chosen to visit Pakistan and not India, a resurgent Russia has waged war in Georgia to contain NATO, India has signed a nuclear deal with the US, and Russia’s Gozprom is building the Iran-Pakistan pipeline without India. Have these factors imperiled Dr. Daojiong’s point of view in China? Let us analyze this situation in light of his later articles.
Keywords
India China Pakistan United States international relations
The Chinese version of “speak softly and carry a big stick” was enunciated by the realist Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, who said “Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.” Beijing has been silently building a big stick for the past six decades. The Chinese see the Hillary Clinton trip for what it is – begging Beijing to continue to purchase US Treasury bonds. India feels pained about this.
China has grown to be a new heavyweight player and has stepped into the limelight on the world stage. And its role in salvaging the plummeting world economy looms large and active. As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during her recent Asian tour, "The U.S. appreciates the continued Chinese confidence in the U.S treasuries." If the Cold War was a tug of war between East and West and a showcase of hard power, what we have today, for the first time in history, is a global, multicivilizational and multipolar competition, and a display of smart power. To be the winner, one has to seek cooperation rather than confrontation, a point made by Li Hongmei, a columnist for the People’s Daily Online.
Even though there is a broad consensus in Pakistan about the value of the Sino-Pakistan strategic relationship, every Pakistani government is accused of mismanaging the relationship with China. In researching the downfall of the metaphorical “Peking Man,” Dr. Farrukh Saleem, Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Pakistan, has created a storm. Whether it is a tempest in a teapot or a tsunami remains to be seen.
We have two visions for China. In one vision, India thinks of China as its biggest threat. The other vision sees China and India working together. Since 1962, Indian politicians have considered China as its biggest threat. A search on Google with the keywords “China is India’s biggest threat” produces 1.2 million threads. Most recently, Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major of the Indian Air Force made a remark that China has become a bigger threat than Pakistan.
Dr. Fakkukh Saleem, in a sensational article published in The News, has tried to highlight the future of Sino-Pakistan and Sino-Indian relations. Dr. Saleem bases his argument on the views of Dr. Zhao Gancheng and Dr. Yang Jiemian, two Chinese professors. Dr. Saleem presents the views of Dr. Daojiong, a very pro-American and pro-business Chinese professor, as evidence that China is reconsidering its relationship with Pakistan. There is nothing in the writings of either one of these authors that seem to suggest a zero-sum game in South Asia. The evidence seems to point to the exact opposite.
"In a Feb. 23 editorial, The People’s Daily addressed U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, with a focus on improving Pakistan’s position against India, saying, 'It is clear that without Pakistan’s cooperation, the US cannot win the war on terror. Therefore, to safeguard its own interests in the fight against terrorism in South Asia, the US must ensure a stable domestic and international environment for Pakistan and ease the tension between Pakistan and India.' This means supporting Pakistan’s position on Kashmir," said William Hawkins of Front Page Magazine.
This much is certain: the subject is an emotional issue for Pakistan. This will be discussed in detail in every nuance in Pakistani circles, as well as by Indian gloaters who think that their longstanding dreams have come true regarding the Sino-Indian relationship and Pakistan.
Ideas of Pakistan's Gwadar Port as China’s Gibraltar and China's billion-dollar port of Hambantota as Beijings’s Guantanamo defies India in the area of the oceans. An investigation is in order. At Rupee News, we scrutinized the issue and wrote to Dr. Daojiong. We could not find an iota of evidence of a shift in Chinese policy towards Pakistan.
It is pedagogical to note that a lot of water has gone down the Indus since 2005. Many Chinese leaders have chosen to visit Pakistan and not India, a resurgent Russia has waged war in Georgia to contain NATO, India has signed a nuclear deal with the US, and Russia’s Gozprom is building the Iran-Pakistan pipeline without India. Have these factors imperiled Dr. Daojiong’s point of view in China? Let us analyze this situation in light of his later articles.
KeywordsIndia China Pakistan United States international relations
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