Abhik Roy
The Statesman
May 24, 2015
As an academic, I have had the opportunity to travel to China several times. During my visits to several major cities, including Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Shanghai and Xiamen, I talked with many academic and non-academic people who were quite candid about sharing their views on Sino-Indian relations. I have also been engaged in online conversations with several Chinese scholars on this topic. A majority of the people I talked with felt that there was still lingering mistrust on both sides.
Many Chinese unabashedly told me that they were skeptical about Modi’s intentions about resolving the border issues with China. On the one hand, Modi indicated his serious intent on establishing a close partnership with China. On the other hand, Modi seemed very keen on having close ties with Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan, which are now regarded as “enemy” countries by many Chinese.
The majority of the Chinese people expressed their displeasure at Modi’s meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in Tokyo right after he took over as India’s Prime Minister. Some even thought it was Modi’s way to humiliate China because he went to meet Abe just before President Xi Jinping was scheduled to arrive in New Delhi.
Although several Chinese appreciated Modi’s rhetoric about the shared values between the two nations, there were others who thought he was a glib talker who played to the gallery. Some of these folks expressed their doubt about Modi actually walking the walk. Furthermore, many viewed Modi’s close alliance with the United States and joining President Obama in criticising China’s policy on the disputed Diaoyu islands to be problematic. While some Chinese deemed the Indian Government’s complaints about China’s endeavours to woo India’s neighbours Sri Lanka and Nepal to be petty and unbecoming of a superpower, others thought India often came across as a “victim” and not as a strong, assertive nation as compared to China. A majority of them indicated that there seemed to be a lack of openness and sincerity on both sides to listen genuinely to each other’s respective positions regarding the disputed areas and that both countries’ position on the border issue appeared to be inflexible, which is probably why the border issue has never been resolved.
The Chinese people were quite vocal in their criticism of the Indian media for perpetuating negative stereotypes and biased reporting on China. They were quick to point out that instead of depicting China in a positive light, many Indian media outlets seemed all too keen on portraying China as an “evil” nation or an “enemy of India.” According to them, Indian media reports would frequently be filled with stories about Chinese border incursions without giving both sides of the conflict, the dumping of Chinese goods on the Indian market, the inferior quality of Chinese products, abuse of human rights, corruption and scandals among government officials, and ethnic conflict in Xinjian, to name a few.
Many lamented the fact that the Indian press did not educate the Indian people sufficiently about all the Chinese accomplishments in the areas of arts, literature, music, sports, science, and technology. Some were quick to point out how disappointed they were to find out that some Indian media even gloated over the Indian government beating the Chinese in the relief efforts in Nepal after the recent earthquake as if it was some kind of a competition. They thought it was in bad taste on the part of Indian media to exploit a human tragedy to show India’s rivalry with China. They seemed quite delighted in pointing out that Nepal had distanced themselves from India due to this kind of unprofessional coverage by the Indian media.
The Chinese were unanimous in saying that media in both countries played a critical role in shaping public opinion. They opined that if the media in both countries were to focus more on positive news then people in both nations would have a better awareness and knowledge of each other that is devoid of stereotypes.
In all these conversations the Chinese mentioned their profound appreciation of the Indian culture and their veneration of Mahatma Gandhi, Tagore and Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis who provided invaluable medical assistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. In fact, I met several scholars who showed me their copies of Tagore’s Gitanjali in Mandarin. They also pointed to the rich history of China and India having close ties that went back to thousands of years and how they had influenced each other in the fields of arts, music, literature, philosophy and religion. Chinese scholars frequently mentioned the names of Faxian who visited India in the early fifth century AD, and Xuanzang (Hsüan-tsang) who came to India around 631 AD, both of whom were instrumental in bringing Buddhism to China.
Several people I talked with expressed their admiration for Bollywood movies and Hindi film songs. During my travels, I also happened to see many old Chinese folk dancing in a park in a very small town to “Jai Ho,” a song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Even to this day, Raj Kapoor and his film Awara are household names. I have lost count of how many Chinese, both young and old, would sing “Awara hoon” in Hindi to me. I also remember the long line of people waiting just to catch a glimpse of the black and white portrait of Raj Kapoor in the Indian pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010.
In all my conversations with the Chinese they evinced a strong interest in having some kind of a regular exchange of scholars, artists, writers, musicians, dancers, and filmmakers so that they could enrich each other’s lives in important ways. Many of them also expressed their desire to visit India but they felt that the Indian government did not seem too keen on promoting tourism to the Chinese for some reason.
There seemed to be a general consensus that the people of both countries must be engaged in conversations to learn and appreciate each other’s cultures. They stated that the leaders and officials in both countries needed to learn to communicate more effectively with each other where they are not guided by stereotypes, biases, or prejudices. They agreed that it would be naive to assume that simply understanding the issues of intercultural communication would resolve all the differences confronting the two nations, but they also indicated that, ultimately, people, and not governments, negotiate and sign peace treaties.
It was a true learning experience for me to hear first-hand what the Chinese had to say about Sino-Indian relations. Every Chinese person I talked with reiterated that they had nothing against India; all they wanted was peace and warm, cordial relations with their neighbour. Some even requested me to share with my friends in India that they have an abiding love and respect for India.
I conclude this piece with a comment that a Chinese academic friend made very recently concerning the ongoing border issues between the two countries, which pretty much captures the sentiments of many Chinese I have talked with: “people are the same everywhere. They just want to be happy and live in peace. Unfortunately, it’s always the government that screws up everything. I blame both the Chinese and the Indian government for their inability to resolve the border issues in a timely manner and in a way that’s a win/win for all.”
The writer is a Professor of Communication Studies at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.
