Op-Ed Contributors

Asia shouldn't be swayed by West

By Yin Jiwu (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-27 07:56

The West should know that China and India share broad common interests in the regional and international arenas. They have complementary economies and increasingly close economic relations, and their bilateral trade volume is expected to reach $60 billion this year.

The two countries, however, have to strengthen mutual trust by removing prejudices and misunderstandings. Occasionally, sensational comments on both sides of the border mislead peoples of the two countries. Most of the problems troubling Sino-Indian relations are the legacy of history, but they appear more complicated because of a vicious cycle of misperception on the two sides.

Leading politicians and academics of the two countries have a vital role to play in strengthening mutual understanding. And true to the need, leaders of Asian countries have recognized the importance of maintaining regional stability, as can be seen in the frequent high-level exchange visits between China and India to establish a strategic and cooperative partnership, and maintain peace and achieve prosperity.

But a country has to build a solid social base, that is, it should enjoy popular support of its citizens, to advance its foreign policy. The absence of such support at home could affect bilateral relations. So, no matter whether it's China-India or China-Japan relations, the countries have to build a solid social base. It is here that the West plays a negative role by misinterpreting one country's harmless action as a threat for the other and sway public opinion.

The future of Asia, however, depends on the countries in the continent and they should ensure that the ghost of "security dilemma" that the West sees is just a nothing more than that. Asian countries must not be swayed by West's bias.

The author is a research fellow with the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University.

(China Daily 07/27/2010 page9)