Chinese foreign policy toward Nepal in the Cold War period: An assessment

China Report

Volumn 35, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 61-81

  Khadka, Narayan ^a  

^a NONE   (Nepal)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS; FOREIGN POLICY; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS;

CHINA; NEPAL;

EID: 0032998426     PISSN: 00094455     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/000944559903500104     Document Type: Article

References (57)

1. Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs, New Developments in Friendly Relations between China and Nepal (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1960), p. 37.
2. At the beginning of the fifth century, during the dynasty of Jin (265-420), Monk Fa Xian of China had visited Nepal and a Nepali monk, Buddha Bhadra visited China. In the seventh century, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) Xuan Zhuang (Tripiraka) of China went to Nepal 'to pay homage to the relics of Buddha' and around the thirteenth century Arniko, a Nepali artisan, led a delegation of 80 Nepalese craftsmen to China 'ro pass on their skills'. The White Pagoda in the inner city of Beijing stands testimony to his art work. Ibid., p. 42.
3. Girilal Jain, Panchasheela and After (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960), p. 17.
4. China Today, 7 October 1961.
5. Survey of China Mainland Press (Hong Kong), No. 2836, 10 October 1962, p. 37.
6. Ibid.
7. New Developments in Friendly Relations between China and Nepal, op. cit., p. 37.
8. Asian Recorder (New Delhi), 1960, p. 3294.
9. Long Live Mao Tse-tung's Thoughts (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1969), p. 673.
10. Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, Annual Report for the Year 1964-65 (New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs, 1965), p. 28.
11. See Chinese Protest Note to India, 2 January 1966, reproduced in R.K. Jain (Ed.), China South Asia Relations 1947-80 (New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1981), p. 340.
12. UN Document E/SR 1835, 141, reproduced in ibid., p. 424. According to India's Foreign Minister Swaran Singh, the Chinese appeared 'terribly suspicious' and therefore at the UN, 'they said that the presence of Tibetan refugees in India might be used to justify an Indian operation against Tibet' in the same way they said about the 'presence of refugees from East Bengal', which 'was used to justify military operations into East Pakistan'. Swaran Singh's interview on CBS Television (USA), 20 December 1971, ibid., p. 418.
13. UN Document E/SR 1835, 141, reproduced in ibid., p. 424. According to India's Foreign Minister Swaran Singh, the Chinese appeared 'terribly suspicious' and therefore at the UN, 'they said that the presence of Tibetan refugees in India might be used to justify an Indian operation against Tibet' in the same way they said about the 'presence of refugees from East Bengal', which 'was used to justify military operations into East Pakistan'. Swaran Singh's interview on CBS Television (USA), 20 December 1971, ibid., p. 418.
14. See Zhou Enlai's letter to Prime Minister Nehru in Peking Review, 15 September 1959, pp. 13-14.
15. The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on China on Sikkim, 11 September 1974 as reported in Peking Review, 20 September 1974.
16. Seletions from People's Republic of China Press, No. 5845, 5 May 1975. China's stand on Sikkim did not change even after normalisation of relations between China and India in the mid-seventies. In June 1980, in response to a question on the 'merger of Sikkim in India', Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping said in an interview, 'we are opposed to the elimination of one sovereign state by another country. But we are not in a position to raise this question now'. See The Times of India (New Delhi), 22 June 1980 and Statesman (Calcutta), 21 July 1980.
17. Seletions from People's Republic of China Press, No. 5845, 5 May 1975. China's stand on Sikkim did not change even after normalisation of relations between China and India in the mid-seventies. In June 1980, in response to a question on the 'merger of Sikkim in India', Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping said in an interview, 'we are opposed to the elimination of one sovereign state by another country. But we are not in a position to raise this question now'. See The Times of India (New Delhi), 22 June 1980 and Statesman (Calcutta), 21 July 1980.
18. Seletions from People's Republic of China Press, No. 5845, 5 May 1975. China's stand on Sikkim did not change even after normalisation of relations between China and India in the mid-seventies. In June 1980, in response to a question on the 'merger of Sikkim in India', Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping said in an interview, 'we are opposed to the elimination of one sovereign state by another country. But we are not in a position to raise this question now'. See The Times of India (New Delhi), 22 June 1980 and Statesman (Calcutta), 21 July 1980.
19. Around the time when political developments in Sikkim led to its 'annexation' by India, and unfriendly developments in the relations led to a minor border conflict, a number of articles appeared in the leading Chinese newspapers on Nepal (for example, one article wrote on the Indo-Nepal economic cooperation on Koshi and Chatra canal in which India was charged with exploiting Nepal. See Peking Review, 3 January 1975), on Bangladesh (for example, on sharing of water of the Ganges in which India was reportedly as acting as a 'tyrant'. See People's Daily, 19 February 1976), and on Bhutan, (for example, on Bhutan's refusal to accept Indian advisors. See Peking Review, 20 September 1974).
20. Around the time when political developments in Sikkim led to its 'annexation' by India, and unfriendly developments in the relations led to a minor border conflict, a number of articles appeared in the leading Chinese newspapers on Nepal (for example, one article wrote on the Indo-Nepal economic cooperation on Koshi and Chatra canal in which India was charged with exploiting Nepal. See Peking Review, 3 January 1975), on Bangladesh (for example, on sharing of water of the Ganges in which India was reportedly as acting as a 'tyrant'. See People's Daily, 19 February 1976), and on Bhutan, (for example, on Bhutan's refusal to accept Indian advisors. See Peking Review, 20 September 1974).
21. Around the time when political developments in Sikkim led to its 'annexation' by India, and unfriendly developments in the relations led to a minor border conflict, a number of articles appeared in the leading Chinese newspapers on Nepal (for example, one article wrote on the Indo-Nepal economic cooperation on Koshi and Chatra canal in which India was charged with exploiting Nepal. See Peking Review, 3 January 1975), on Bangladesh (for example, on sharing of water of the Ganges in which India was reportedly as acting as a 'tyrant'. See People's Daily, 19 February 1976), and on Bhutan, (for example, on Bhutan's refusal to accept Indian advisors. See Peking Review, 20 September 1974).
22. See Survey of China Mainland Press as cited in A.S. Bhasin (Ed.). Documents on Nepal's Relations with India and China 1949-66 (Bombay: Academic Books, 1970), p. 293.
23. See Survey of China Mainland Press as cited in A.S. Bhasin (Ed.). Documents on Nepal's Relations with India and China 1949-66 (Bombay: Academic Books, 1970), p. 293.
24. This was the remark of the Chinese Foreign Minister Huang Hua in Kathmandu. See The Rising Nepal (Kathmandu), 22 November 1979.
25. Survey of China Mainland Press (Hong Kong), No. 2836, 10 October 1962, pp. 32-33.
26. Speeches of Liu Shaoqi at a banquet in Beijing on 29 September 1961. See China Today, 7 October 1961, pp. 13-14.
27. Peking Review, 11 July 1969, p. 29.
28. Allen S. Whiting, 'Foreign Policy of Communist China', in Roy C. Macridis (Ed.), Foreign Policy in World Politics (Englewoods Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc., 1967), p. 324.
29. An article in Peking Review of 12 May 1959 said that the 'counter-revolutionary holy alliance of the Metternich type has bound together' the US, Britain, South Korea, Taiwan, South Vietnam and India's 'reactionary parties'. The article admired Nehru for his neutral stand but charged him of being 'involuntarily pushed by that alliance into an important role in their so-called sympathy with Tibet movement'.
30. He Di, 'The Most Respected Enemy: Mao Zedong's perceptions of the United States', China Quarterly, No. 137, March 1994, p. 146.
31. Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1982), p. 67.
32. Nepal was an ardent supporter of China's admission to the UN. The United States which had earlier blocked China's entry, mobilised enough support to ensure its rightful place not only in the General Assembly but also in the Security Council.
33. This was mentioned in the Shanghai Communiqué of February 1972. See United States, Department of State Bulletin, Washington D.C., February 1989, p. 26.
34. R.G. Boyd, 'Soviet and Chinese Involvement in Southern Asia', Canadian Salvonic Papers, Vol. XII, No. 2, 1970, p. 175.
35. Nehru's argument was that China's 'attack' on India may have been prompted to demonstrate that non-alignment was wrong and the 'Soviet policy toward the non-aligned countries' was wrong. Nehru also believed that in China's opinion to work for 'polarization of forces in the world' was the 'right course to justify (the Chinese) ideological differences with the Soviet Union'. Jawaharlal Nehru, 'Changing India', Foreign Affairs (New York), April 1960.
36. Hongqi (Red Flag), 21 October 1963, quoted by Marshall I. Goldman, Soviet Foreign Aid '(New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, 1967), p. 140.
37. Hongqi (Red Flag), 21 October 1963, quoted by Marshall I. Goldman, Soviet Foreign Aid '(New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, 1967), p. 140.
38. People's Daily, 22 August 1963.
39. Peking Review, 30 June 1967. In Peking Review, a Chinese commentator criticised the Soviet Union of seeking to 'dominate the vital sectors of the Indian economy' by giving aid. The purpose of this aid, according to the commentator, was the same as that of the 'imperialists', that is, 'to promote the export of their commodities'. 'The Soviet revisionists have', the commentator argued, 'through a barter arrangement, made India's foreign trade heavily dependent on the Soviet market', and 'in return for their aid', they have 'demanded special privileges' which are not in India's national interest. Peking Review, 29 September 1967.
40. Peking Review, 30 June 1967. In Peking Review, a Chinese commentator criticised the Soviet Union of seeking to 'dominate the vital sectors of the Indian economy' by giving aid. The purpose of this aid, according to the commentator, was the same as that of the 'imperialists', that is, 'to promote the export of their commodities'. 'The Soviet revisionists have', the commentator argued, 'through a barter arrangement, made India's foreign trade heavily dependent on the Soviet market', and 'in return for their aid', they have 'demanded special privileges' which are not in India's national interest. Peking Review, 29 September 1967.
41. China accused the Soviet Union of making India the 'biggest sales market', and 'raw material processing plant and investment outlet for the Soviet revisionists in Southeast Asia. This has effectively exploded the myth about the Soviet revisionists' claim to have strengthened India's economic independence'. See Peking Review, 15 August 1969. Soviet aid for India's industrial development was also sharply criticised by China which believed that 'industrial cooperation' was just a 'refurbished version of "specialization in production" pushed by the Soviet revisionist chieftains in certain East European countries and Mongolia. They used Indian raw material and labour power to produce what they need, further making India their accessory processing factory'. Peking Review, 21 January 1972, p. 18.
42. China accused the Soviet Union of making India the 'biggest sales market', and 'raw material processing plant and investment outlet for the Soviet revisionists in Southeast Asia. This has effectively exploded the myth about the Soviet revisionists' claim to have strengthened India's economic independence'. See Peking Review, 15 August 1969. Soviet aid for India's industrial development was also sharply criticised by China which believed that 'industrial cooperation' was just a 'refurbished version of "specialization in production" pushed by the Soviet revisionist chieftains in certain East European countries and Mongolia. They used Indian raw material and labour power to produce what they need, further making India their accessory processing factory'. Peking Review, 21 January 1972, p. 18.
43. People's Daily, 22 August 1963.
44. Mentioning the reaction in Pakistan, the Peking Review of 3 June 1966 said that the Soviet armies were targeted at China and Pakistan. Quoting a news item in the Press Trust of India, which also quoted the New York Times, 30 June 1967 issue of Peking Review stated that the Soviet government had promised to give India '200 up-to-date SV-7 fighter bombers'. The main aim of this arms aid, according to Peking Review, was to 'turn India into an anti-China advanced guard and joint Soviet-U.S. military base against China'.
45. Zhou Enlai said that the treaty document was lying in the drawer of the Soviet foreign minister for two years before 1971, but was taken out because of President Nixon's visit to China. See Zhou Enlai's interview to Neville Maxwell published in The Sunday Times, 5 December 1971 reproduced in R.K. Jain op. cit., p. 417.
46. Zhou Enlai said that the treaty document was lying in the drawer of the Soviet foreign minister for two years before 1971, but was taken out because of President Nixon's visit to China. See Zhou Enlai's interview to Neville Maxwell published in The Sunday Times, 5 December 1971 reproduced in R.K. Jain op. cit., p. 417.
47. The Statesman, 22 September 1979.
48. S.D. Muni. Foreign Policy of Nepal (New Delhi: National Publishing House, 1973), p. 70.
49. In the agreement to maintain friendly relations and on trade and intercourse of 20 September 1956, Clause 3 of Paragraph III stated the inhabitants of the border districts of the two countries who cross the border to carry on petty trade, to visit friends or relatives, or for seasonal changes of residence, may do so as they have customarily done heretofore and need not hold passports, visas or other documents of certification.
50. Under the China-Nepal Economic Aid Agreement of 7 October 1956, two-thirds of the total Indian Rupees (IRs) 60 million grant aid had to be in the form of machinery, equipment, materials and other commodities (Article 1). Similarly, the IRs 140 million grant under the China-Nepal Economic Aid Agreement of 21 March 1960 (IRs 100 million new and IRs 40 million balance from the 1956 agreement), 'shall cover equipment, machinery and materials, technique and other commodities'. In the same way, under the China-Nepal Agreement on Economic Cooperation of 21 December 1966, out of the grant of (Nepali Rupees) NRs 150 million, NRs 27 million worth was in commodities to meet the local expenses and transportation charges within the Nepalese and Indian territories for equipment, machinery and materials supplied by China.
51. For India's perception of China's trade penetration in Nepal see India, Parliamentary Debates (Lok Sabha), Series II, Vol. IX No. 2, November 1961, Cols 5-7.
52. The Rising Nepal (Kathmandu), 3 June 1976.
53. Gorkhapatra (Kathmandu), 14 November 1972.
54. China Today, 7 October 1961.
55. The Rising Nepal (Kathmandu), 9 December 1973.
56. The Rising Nepal (Kathmandu), 5 May 1978.
57. Spotlight (Kathmandu). 3 September 1993. p. 22.