China goes ga-ga over Sonia’s visit

Goodwill generated may go a long way in clearing the air between the two nations

NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s visit to China last month has gone a long way in clearing the air, in the often testy ties between Asia’s two largest countries. Sonia and her son Rahul Gandhi got wide coverage in the Chinese press.

Though Gandhi went to Beijing as president of the Congress party at the invitation of the Communist Party of China, and no tangible results  were possible, the goodwill generated by the trip was enormous, according to Chinese analyst Yangdon Wong.

“Sonia’s visit helped in generating an overall feel-good atmosphere. Though no big ticket items were on the agenda, considering she is not formally a part of the government, her visit helped the Chinese leadership get a better understanding of the situation in India. The confidence-building process between India and China has certainly been accelerated by Sonia’s interaction at the highest levels of China’s   leadership,” Yangdon Wong said.

China’s Xinhua news agency described Gandhi’s visit as the most important in recent years by any Indian leader. The fact that she was the first foreign dignitary to arrive in Beijing soon after the Communist Party Congress , the most important event in the political calendar of China, concluded its meeting is regarded in the Chinese system as a great honour for a foreign visitor. The Congress meets every five years.

“You are the first foreign political leader to visit China after the conclusion of 17th National Congress (on October 22), which is an indication of importance both of us have attached to our relations,” President Hu Zintao told Sonia during their meeting. He described Gandhi's visit as “historic'” and a continuation of  China’s relations with the Congress party and  the Gandhi family.

It was Sonia’s husband, late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who broke the deep freeze in relations with China after the 1962 border war, by going to Beijing in 1988. The process of normalising ties with Beijing began at that time. Sonia had accompanied her husband for that trip. Both Hu and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao were effusive in their praise for Rajiv Gandhi.