Chinese Communist Party invites Amit Shah: A new reality in India-China relations?

New Delhi, Oct 27: The Communist Party of

(CPC) has recently invited

president

to visit that country. This development is indeed an important one in the course of the India-China relations after the government of Narendra Modi took over in May.

It is known that the CPC shares time-tested relations with the Indian communists and the Congress party. But its communication with the BJP is something new. Has the CPC decided to overlook the ideological proximity and turned more realist in its approach?

The CPC's move proves that Beijing has begun to take New Delhi differently after a majoritarian government of a nationalist party came to power, marking a sharp departure from the era of coalition politics in India. The Chinese communists are perhaps also moved by the fact that there is little opposition in India which is in a position to challenge the Modi regime and hence are preparing for a long-term relationship.

However, it is not that the Chinese are dealing with a BJP-led government in India in friendly terms for the first time. When the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power, both sides had progress in their bilateral relation. But the latest decision of the CPC to invite the BJP president is a different story.

The Chinese know very well that the BJP's majority government makes New Delhi more powerful in taking calls and the same is also being seen in the Modi government's handling of the repeated border violations by the Chinese troops.

The Chinese side is perhaps trying to build a Track-II diplomacy with India by engaging in talks at the party level so that the engagement at the government level is felicitated when the necessity arises. The ideology factor has become irrelevant for the CPC and that was clear after Chinese President Xi Jinping returned from his India visit without meeting the communists here.

Shah is likely to visit China in December. A 14-member delegation led by National Secretary Sidarth Nath Singh was scheduled to leave for China on October 26 to prepare grounds for the BJP president's visit. The delegation will visit Hangzhou, Beijing, Chongquig and Shanghai. Besides the political and diplomatic question, the delegation is also likely to pave the way for trade and investment talks between the two neighbours.

Oneindia News