THE praise of India’s smart foreign policy, improved economy, better social governance appearing in Chinese state-run newspaper ‘Global Times’ needs to be deciphered with caution. For, when such a praise arrives on the plate unexpectedly -- from the Chinese quarters -- it needs to taken with a pinch of salt and understood in depth before saying ‘thanks’. For, the newspaper that took pains in hiding the number of actual Chinese deaths in the skirmish between the Chinese and the Indian soldiers in Galwan four years ago, cannot be expected to be open about heaping praise on India on several counts without having some agenda that it may shy away from stating (for obvious reasons). No matter that, for the average Indians, this positive comment from the official Chinese media marks an appreciation of what the country has achieved thanks to its ‘proactive’ approach to creating what the ‘Global Times’ called ‘Bharat narrative’. ‘Bharat narrative’ is not just a political slogan. It is, on the contrary, a serious effort to craft the true story of India in the current scenario -- from the Indian perspective beyond any non-Indian influence. For whatever reasons, the ‘Global Times’ has preferred to state that in its article penned by a notable person -- Zhang Jiadong -- who happens to be the Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

 

The author has showered encomiums on India for its proactive approach to build what has been described as ‘Bharat narrative’. Possibly, the author is conscious of India’s domestic atmosphere loaded in favour of ‘Bharat narrative’ -- being promoted or promulgated by many intellectuals and scholars of internal and international public affairs. From the media reports, it can be inferred safely that the article may be an attempt by the Chinese leadership to extend a hand of welcome to India -- particularly against the background of international reports that China is doing badly on several fronts, including the economy, in the past couple of years. Various such possibilities can be thought of by way of an open-minded interpretation or analysis of the possible Chinese intentions. No matter all those different nuances of the analytical exercise, India must officially try to go beyond the obvious while interpreting the ‘Global Times’ article before it chooses to make whatever alterations in its stance vis-a-vis China. There is no doubt that New Delhi will never miss the reality that the Chinese are a tough proposition to contend with from different angles and therefore should be taken seriously.

 

Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar had hinted at such a cautious approach while dealing with China, just a few days ago. He had suggested, in effect, that the Indian response to any Chinese move must be complex and must encompass a wide range of possibilities whose interplay may have a profound effect on India-China relations. When a seasoned diplomat and fierce patriot like Dr. Jaishankar says something on these lines, he must be taken in complete seriousness by the whole nation and the world. The current international realpolitik has been slowly but surely begun to raise issues about integrity and transparency of various Chinese positions on different matters. No matter the fact it is plush with a lot of cash, the Chinese economy also is known to be taking hits in the global marketplace for various reasons. In such a situation, it is quite possible that the Chinese leadership may be wanting to extend a friendly hand to its Indian counterpart. But even these are only superficial ideations. Deep down, the Chinese may be playing a deep game about which the Indians will have to be extremely cautious.