Author: News Service
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 23, 2006
Chinese President Hu Jintao had a piece of advice for the Indian Communists: Be pragmatic.
With China embracing the market economy, Hu told a delegation of Left leaders who came to call on him to adopt a "more pragmatic" approach in this era of globalisation that provides immense scope for economic prosperity.
Globalisation provides scope for economic prosperity, and a "more pragmatic and positive approach" must be adopted by the Left to develop infrastructure and the economy, he said.
Sources said that both CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and his CPI counterpart AB Bardhan told Hu they would be interested to know about the Chinese reforms and the methods they were applying in agricultural sector to increase production.
Hu's plain speaking is unlikely to please the Left leaders who have belligerently opposed the reform process in India and forced the UPA Government to virtually drop disinvestment from the agenda of governance.
The delegation - consisted of Karat, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, Bardhan, senior leader Sudhakar Reddy and Forward Bloc leaders Debabrata Biswas and G Devrajan.
In his meeting with the Left leaders, the Chinese President also expected that the overwhelming Left influence on the UPA Government would help give more focus on priority areas of ties between the two countries.
Hu, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), told the Left leaders about his expectations on the issue of both bilateral trade and areas where Chinese interests are not taken care of due to old inhibitions.
Sources said that the Chinese leader expressed satisfaction over the inclusion of initiatives on the India-China Joint Civil Nuclear deal in the joint declaration.