Will China-India ties take 'orbital jump'?

China-India relations are poised to take the "orbital jump", says India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Going by the growth of bilateral trade ties - which is expected to jump from $66.45 billion in 2012 to $100 billion by 2015 - that seems likely. But bilateral trade is characterized by an overwhelming trade deficit for India. The concern is apparently economic in nature but if enough attention is not paid to it, the good work done over the past few years to strengthen bilateral ties could be undone.

Fortunately, the visit of President Xi Jinping to India is being viewed as a path-breaking visit in terms of addressing the questions of "trust deficit" and "trade deficit". If bilateral trade ties are to prosper, both countries need to realize that the solutions to trade deficit and other bottlenecks need not be limited to economic measures. Unless the two countries look at the larger canvas and have a frank exchange of views and discuss the ways and means to overcome the twin deficits, bilateral ties could become hostage to age-old mutual misperceptions.

Until now, both sides have carefully orchestrated a touch of history to Xi's visit. Whereas Xi is keen to drive home the importance of Gujarat while talking about revival of the "New Silk Road", Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to take Xi to Vadnagar, which ancient Chinese scholar and Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited and mentioned in his travel diaries. Xi's visit to the Sabarmati Ashram, home of Mahatma Gandhi, too, has an element of history in it and perhaps a message - if the two countries have peaceful relations, they can create history the way Gandhi did in the first half of the 20th century.