Thursday, October 18, 2012 3:19:19 GMT
The
Wall Street Journal India
.......Chinese Like India Less
The
views of Chinese people toward India are becoming more negative but they’re not much keener on Pakistan, according to the results of a new report.
The Pew Research Center report, released Tuesday, shows that
two-thirds of Chinese respondents viewed India unfavorably and 23% favorably. By comparison, 43% of Chinese involved in the survey said they viewed the U.S. favorably.
Chinese attitudes to Pakistan – Beijing’s longstanding ally in the South Asia region – were not much warmer. The study showed that only 31% of respondents said they had a positive view of Pakistan.
What’s perhaps most notable in the report is that only 39% of respondents said they viewed Beijing’s relationship with India as one of cooperation, down significantly from 53% in 2010.
Such a trend shows the difficulties facing both countries as they try to improve relations. In 2010, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visited India with a large trade delegation, a trip which highlighted growing commercial ties between the two nations.
India’s expanding economy has led to demand for Chinese imports, growing new markets for items such as telecom equipment and power plant turbines. But the Pew study showed that
only 44% of Chinese view India’s economic advance as positive, down from 60% at the time of Mr. Wen’s visit in 2010.
Those in China that consider India’s economic success as a negative have almost doubled in the same period.
Only 23% of Indians term their nation’s relationship with China as one of cooperation; only 24% think China’s growing economy is a good thing, Pew research shows.
These
negative attitudes mean it’ll be hard for China and India to take bold measures needed to forge a long-lasting thaw in relations.
India and China fought a 1962 border war that Beijing won. Both countries still dispute the long Himalayan borders that separates them.
Efforts to solve the border issue over the years has gotten nowhere amid nationalist howling from both sides.
Despite increased trade, New Delhi remains wary of China’s moves to extend its maritime presence in the Indian Ocean, while Beijing has complained about India’s commercial activities in the South China Sea.
The low number of Chinese that have a favorable view of Pakistan – an enemy of India since 1947 – could reflect the country’s continued inability to stop Islamist militants from operating on its soil.
Beijing this year has complained about alleged links between Uighur separatist militants in northwestern China and Pakistan-based terrorist groups.
Chinese companies also have pulled out of deals in Pakistan due to security concerns.
But the Pew survey showed that Chinese in general view Pakistan as an ally, with 49% saying the relationship between the country was still one of cooperation.
Beijing continues to help Pakistan develop its civil nuclear program at a time when other countries, including the U.S., have refused to do so because of Islamabad’s history of nuclear proliferation.
It also has stepped in to help Pakistan’s economy. Recent Pakistan media reports say China’s government may increase its stake Pakistan’s Gwadar port, a facility on the Arabian Sea that Beijing helped fund a few years ago.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/10/17/chinese-like-indians-less/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=indiablog
