China keeps wary eye on Clinton's India visit

By Elisabeth Zingg

BEIJING (AFP): China is keeping a wary eye on U.S. President Bill Clinton's historic visit to India -- welcoming efforts to promote greater stability in South Asia but concerned about growing U.S. influence in the region.

While the Chinese government sought to put a positive spin on the U.S. shift to a more balanced approach towards the subcontinent, China's army mouthpiece stressed that China and Russia would not stand for an increase in U.S. influence.

"These two countries will not stand by with their arms crossed faced with American efforts to increase their strategic influence in South Asia," the army daily said in a commentary devoted to the "difficulties" of Clinton's visit to India.

Clinton on Saturday was to wrap up the first visit in 22 years by a U.S. president to India, which has had traditionally friendly ties with Russia.

The U.S. leader was to travel on Saturday for a brief visit to Pakistan, an erstwhile U.S. ally and close friend of China.

Beijing has been seeking for the past year to improve its ties with New Delhi, which were scarred by a brief but bloody border conflict in 1962 and India's nuclear tests in May 1998, which were strongly condemned by Beijing.

In a sign of the improving Sino-Indian relationship, Indian President K.R. Narayanan is to visit China in May to attend ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two Asian giants.

Official Chinese reaction to Clinton's India visit has been cautious. "We hope the visit will play a positive role in promoting peace and stability in South Asia," foreign ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said.

Cheng Ruisheng, a former Chinese ambassador to India who is presently a senior advisor for the China Institute of International Studies, welcomed the trip but cautioned against the formation of an India-U.S. alliance aimed at counterbalancing China.

"We welcome the visit which shows that the U.S. attaches more importance to the region," Cheng said last Friday, adding that Clinton's decision to add a stop in Pakistan would help "maintain a balance."

"India and China are important countries which have an independent foreign policy and the United States has no reason to form a new alliance," he said.

While China is not expecting Clinton's visits to India and Pakistan to have any effect on the nuclear policies of the two countries, it is hoping the trips may help reduce tensions in the flashpoint of Kashmir.

"Just after the end of the Cold War, major powers were playing games," said Cheng. "Now the United States, Russia and China all want peace and stability in the region and want to encourage the dialogue between India and Pakistan."

Diplomats here have also been closely monitoring China's reaction to the U.S. attempt to ply a more balanced foreign policy on the subcontinent.

"China will closely follow what's going on while trying to ensure that it does not turn against (Beijing)," said a Western diplomat.