Hacking somebody stronger is like playing with fire; China is not so dumb as to play with fire.

Are Chinese computer operators engaged in a cyber war with India, relentlessly hacking away at Indian websites? Is China censoring the Internet?  Is it placing shackles on the road to democracy and forcing its citizens to keep their mouths shut? Why are Chinese manufacturers dumping cheap products in our markets? Does China have a hostile approach towards its neighbours? Above all, does it have a policy of aggression so far as India is concerned? The answer to all these questions is a definitive ?No?. And it has been provided by Mr. Niu Qingbao, a senior career diplomat from that country who is at present the Consul-General of the People?s Republic of China in Bombay.

He said while speaking on ?India- China bilateral relations? at the last meeting that he was surprised to see ?eye-catching? headlines in the Indian media which spoke of ?Chinese aggression?, ?Chinese hacking? and ?Chinese dumping?. There was absolutely no truth in any of these apprehensions. ?China, like any other country, wants peace and stability not only within its own borders, but also in its neighbourhood. China will never initiate any quarrel with its neighbours, because without friendly relations with its neighbours, it?s almost impossible to concentrate on economic progress.?

Mr. Qingbao spoke of the ties that bound India and China since the first century AD, described how both countries suffered under the yoke of European colonialism, both becoming free around the same time, the interactions between leading lights of both countries, the misunderstanding between them and the present situation which was marked by increased and mutually beneficial cooperation between them. In fact, he was diplomacy personified both while delivering his brief talk and while answering questions at its conclusion. His deft handling of the Arunachal Pradesh visa issue was vintage stuff.

Mr. Qingbao was introduced by Alok Sekhsaria who said that he was a career diplomat with a lot of experience in statecraft. His exposure to the USA had earned him an important place in the diplomatic pantheon. ?When any country grows at a rate that is the envy of the world and develops muscle that is difficult to match, it attracts attention of every sort ? and not always of the positive kind... It is important that we have a person of the seniority of Mr.Qingbao speaking to us on bilateral relations,? Alok added.

Mr. Qingbao started by recalling that China?s relations with India went a long way back. Ancient civilizations both, they had made substantial contributions to the improvement of humankind. They had led the world not only in economy but also in literature, philosophy, science and technology for many centuries.

But in the late 18th and early 19th century, they fell prey to Western colonialism. While India was totally occupied, largely by one power, China was invaded and occupied by many;there were big powers like Britain and smaller ones like Belgium. Again, around the middle of the 20th century, both countries had won independence after long struggles. Since then, a new page had been turned in the history of both China and India. ?That?s why I always emphasise that we have a partnership. We have had a very similar history, very similar, or even common, national conditions, and in some ways we also have a very similar culture.? Since the late 1970s, when China started reforming and opening up, many great changes had taken place.

In the course of just one lifetime (the last three decades), it had been recording almost double-digit growth. It was 9.2% last year, the size of the national economy was 47 trillion RMB (at current exchange rates, about US $7.4 trillion) and it had a per capita GDP of about US $5,000Are Chinese computer operators engaged in a cyber war with India, relentlessly hacking away at Indian websites? Is China censoring the Internet? Is it placing shackles on the road to democracy and forcing its citizens to keep their mouths shut?

Why are Chinese manufacturers dumping cheap products in our markets? Does China have a hostile approach towards its neighbours? Above all, does it have a policy of aggression so far as India is concerned? The answer to all these questions is a definitive ?No?. And it has been provided by Mr. Niu Qingbao, a senior career diplomat from that country who is at present the Consul-General of the People?s Republic of China in Bombay.

He said while speaking on ?India- China bilateral relations? at the last meeting that he was surprised to see ?eye-catching? headlines in the Indian media which spoke of ?Chinese aggression?, ?Chinese hacking? and ?Chinese dumping?. There was absolutely no truth in any of these apprehensions. ?China, like any other country, wants peace and stability not only within its own borders, but also in its neighbourhood. China will never initiate any quarrel with its neighbours, because without friendly relations with its neighbours, it?s almost impossible to concentrate on economic progress.?

Mr. Qingbao spoke of the ties that bound India and China since the first century AD, described how both countries suffered under the yoke of European colonialism, both becoming free around the same time, the interactions between leading lights of both countries, the misunderstanding between them and the present situation which was marked by increased and mutually beneficial cooperation between them. In fact, he was diplomacy personified both while delivering his brief talk and while answering questions at its conclusion. His deft handling of the Arunachal Pradesh visa issue was vintage stuff.

Mr. Qingbao was introduced by Alok Sekhsaria who said that he was a career diplomat with a lot of experience in statecraft. His exposure to the USA had earned him an important place in the diplomatic pantheon. ?When any country grows at a rate that is the envy of the world and develops muscle that is difficult to match, it attracts attention of every sort ? and not always of the positive kind... It is important that we have a person of the seniority of Mr.Qingbao speaking to us on bilateral relations,? Alok added.

Mr. Qingbao started by recalling that China?s relations with India went a long way back. Ancient civilizations both, they had made substantial contributions to the improvement of humankind. They had led the world not only in economy but also in literature, philosophy, science and technology for many centuries.

But in the late 18th and early 19th century, they fell prey to Western colonialism. While India was totally occupied, largely by one power, China was invaded and occupied by many;there were big powers like Britain and smaller ones like Belgium. Again, around the middle of the 20th century, both countries had won independence after long struggles. Since then, a new page had been turned in the history of both China and India. ?That?s why I always emphasise that we have a partnership. We have had a very similar history, very similar, or even common, national conditions, and in some ways we als