Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Unique Nepal-China relationship

A real companion is tested at hard times. Authentic friends never bend the arms of a rather smaller and weaker pal. A most excellent friend is he who understands the difficulties of the other partner and extends its helping hand so that the friend in problem feels contented. A true friend is he who doesn't punch nose in the select internal affairs of the friend's house. He is the one who keeps at a comfortable detachment as and when some internal problems grips the smaller friend concluding that time permitting the matters in question in the acquaintances house will be sorted by its own family members.

Equally true is that a clumsy and cunning friend would wish to try to take advantage of from the neighbor's problems and issues to his or her benefits. This is also a fact that a wrong friend will never think of the well being of his immediate neighbor but would declare for the sake of prestige and popularity that they were intimate colleagues from times immemorial. All fake claims.

Such phenomenon one could witness in one's own society and a bit far in the neighborhood as well. One has not to go far to experience such pleasing or unpleasing relations with one's neighbors

This model of relation exactly fits into country-to-country relations. Some countries in effect extend their hand of support without having ill motives in mind. On the contrary, some possess wicked and cunning brains that would more often than not prefer to fish in the troubled waters of others at the latter's hard times.

Pleasingly enough, Nepal-China relations have come a long way and have crossed already fifty years of their sound and vibrating relationship. Having relations for even hundred years is immaterial if the other partner is a clever one who tries to twist the arms of the neighbors when the latter is in trouble or is having troubled minutes. This is not the case with Nepal-China bilateral relations. Hardly there has been any nuisance that should have caused damage to our bilateral ties since all along these half-century of our free and frank relationship.

In effect, the Nepali authorities in high places are hereby advised to open up fifty border points through which Nepali traders can initiate businesses with their Chinese corresponding teams and vice versa for their mutual economic benefits.

If the same goods that we are having from others in the neighborhood were easily available in the areas bordering China which are comfortable and reasonable costs' wise then why should we not go in for this system? It has not been in the treaty that we should buy all the goods from one country. If treaties do not bind us from buying goods from a particular country then it would be more than advisable to the government and the consuming population to hunt for better goods and that too at a happy-going price. If this is done then one can lessen the dependence on one particular country, which is what is today. This old practice should be discarded for good as buyers we are free to have things of our choice from any country in the earth.

Thanks that such border openings are already in the pipeline, which augurs well for this country. After all globalization does not mean that Nepal should be forced to buy goods from one particular country but instead means that Nepal is free to select the goods that she needs for her developmental efforts from any country wherein she finds the goods at comfortable price.

Coming back to Nepal-China relations, well this association is unique in the sense that it does exhibit the world community as to how two unequal friends in size and population and in matters of development levels can adjust and accommodate each others' genuine mutual interests without forcing one another to toe to their political preferences. As a matter of fact, China could have pressed Nepal hard to comply with her political demands, if she so desired or intended. However, there has not been any instance so far which could have given Nepal the impression that China is twisting her arms for her political interests. The Nepali experience has been that China has stood ever as a rock and nurtured this bilateral relation even when Nepali leaders at various intervals of time were told by some alien elements to minimize Nepal's relations with that country.

China kept mum when Nepali leaders sold out at a dirt price all those factors built by them for the Nepali population. China kept a remarkable silence even when some Nepali politicians openly encouraged those who advocated the Tibetan issue considering that Nepal will itself handle its internal affairs though it had much to do with her own prestige and stands.

China pleasingly accepted the Nepali decision long time back that a road construction works in the far western region should go to some other countries though China was the lowest bidder in the international tender sought for the said road construction.

Above all, China never encouraged Nepali leaders to create ugly scenes in the country to bounce back to power corridors. The list of Chinese nobility is long. In sum, China not unlike others in the neighborhood has proved how friendship should be maintained even at difficult times. The beauty of Nepal-China relation is that China never tried to squeeze Nepal for her political interests. Others would do well if they copy the Chinese pattern in their conduct of relations with Nepal.

We wish that China continued to be a bona fide friend as she has been over these five decades. Nepal too should reciprocate the Chinese feelings in a manner that never hurt the Chinese establishment.

It is time that Nepal took initiatives to expand her ties with China at all possible and yet unexplored levels even if some in the neighborhood dislike the growing Nepal-China ties.