China is the shopper's stop

By C. Raja Mohan

BEIJING, SEPT. 9. The Indian and Chinese governments may want to argue with each other on their contested border, Pakistan, and nuclear weapons for years to come. But if the Indian middle class traveller finds an easy way to get here, he would want to shop till he drops dead.

China is a shopper's paradise waiting to be discovered by India. The traditional haunts in Singapore and more recently Bangkok may pale into insignificance, when the Indians figure the joys of buying quality goods at low prices in Beijing.

Shopping seems a national occupation in China. Crowded stores and malls are open late and seven days a week. Whether you are looking for high fashion branded goods or cheap bargains, Beijing is the place to be in.

Cheap but comfortable hotels and growing number of shop assistants who speak English make China an attractive destination for the Indian tourist. All that the Indians, with their conservative eating habits, need is a bit of curry.

The smart Chinese businessmen will have no problem serving it. Already in one of the fashionable restaurants here in the National History Museum on one side of the famed Tiananmen Square something akin to Chicken curry is on the menu.

But first the Indians must get here. By end of the year, hopefully, there will be direct flights between New Delhi and Beijing. Once the two governments sign a facilitating agreement, Air China is expected to connect the capitals at a very reasonable fare.

That should put an end to the ridiculous situation where the world's two largest nations and neighbours do not have direct air links. A direct flight between the two capitals should take about five hours. But it took nearly 15 hours for this reporter to get here from Delhi, travelling south to Bangkok first and then heading north to China.

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Power and prosperity have long been the goals of the Chinese national movement. The Changan (the avenue of eternal peace) that runs for miles along the spine of Beijing reeks of both. What was once a sleepy road, full of cyclists dressed in blue and gray, is today lined with high-rise buildings, shopping plazas, and automobile traffic that is vexing.

Changan in particular and Beijing as a whole reflect two decades of heady economic development in China. Purists will point to the melange of architectural styles on Changan. Sceptics will underline the huge economic problems facing China - increasing gulf between the upper and lower segments of the society, rural unrest, regional disparities, and the potential of an economic meltdown.

But in the bustling streets of Beijing, the talk of an impending doom in China is rather abstract. Among the young Chinese, there is a new self-confidence and extraordinary optimism about the future.

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When it comes to the miracle of Chinese economic development in the last two decades, denial and devaluation have long been fashionable in India. Despite the Indian scepticism on China, it is about to become the world's second largest economy.

There is no running away from that. India may or may not want to learn from the Chinese economic reforms. But the least it could do is to partake in the explosive growth of China for its own benefit.

The signals are positive but somewhat weak. Trade between the two nations has grown at the rate of 50 per cent in the last three years. But at about $3 billions last year, it remains way below potential; a lot remains to be done.

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China is very impressed with India's achievements in the information technology sector and wants to catch up. But instead of worrying about competition from China, the Indian IT industry has been smart enough to decide on doing business here, which is expected to emerge as one of the largest software markets.

The IT education and training company, Aptech already has about 60 centres here. About 150 software engineers are already reported to be working in Beijing. The big ones like Infosys, Wipro, and TCS are all exploring business prospects here.

The trick for India is to find ways to grow in tandem with China and not in opposition to it. India is in a position to create a niche for itself in the Chinese market whether it is in software or in agro exports to feed an increasingly prosperous neighbour.

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For far too long, politics has dominated Sino-Indian relations. The time has come for India and China to put economics in command in shaping their bilateral relations. That would mean managing and containing political differences while making business the main business of bilateral relations.

Given their current commercial orientation, the Chinese leaders may have few problems with such an approach. The question is whether India can discover some pragmatism in dealing with China. The first opportunity comes with the impending visit of the Prime Minister, Mr. Zhu Rongji, to India later this year.

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