NEW DELHI -- At a time of growing U.S.-Indian strategic engagement, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's unusually conciliatory tone during his visit to India last week reflected his country's desire to decelerate that process by emphasizing areas of potential Sino-Indian cooperation. China is suddenly signaling its intent to be more responsive to Indian concerns in an effort to dissuade New Delhi from building a close military relationship with the United States.
Beijing's overtures to India come when the Asian strategic landscape is rapidly transforming to China's disadvantage in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the name of fighting terrorism, the U.S. has strengthened its strategic role from Central Asia to Southeast Asia. It is setting up long-term military bases in Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan; it intends to stay strategically engaged in Pakistan; and it has returned to the Philippines with its special forces.
The fast-changing strategic scene not only undercuts Chinese ambitions to dominate Asia, but also puts greater pressure on China's Leninist rulers at a time when the Jiang Zemin-Li Peng-Zhu Rongji triumvirate is set to retire one by one by the end of next year.