Aug. 9 – Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao believes that the relationship between India and China has grown stronger over the years and that bilateral relations between the two emerging Asian powers are set to be the “big story of the 21st Century.”

Speaking with Karan Thapar during a televised interview on India’s CNN-IBN Network, Rao touched on several sensitive and current foreign affairs topics ranging from the U.S.-Pakistan military relationship to the need for “intelligently transacted dialogue” with Beijing.

“I believe what that points to is the fact that this relationship, the relationship between India and China, is going to be the big story of the 21st Century,” Rao said. “A story based on dialogue, which we intend to conduct intelligently and which we intend to conduct with confidence so that our concerns are protected always.”

“That is exactly the context I was referred to when I spoke of the complexity in the relationship. And that is what dialogue, intelligently transacted dialogue, enables you to do when you seek more responsiveness from the other side about your concerns – this is exactly so that we are able to place these issues in context and to seek the other side’s focus on this issue and greater responsiveness and sensitivity to these issues,” she added.

Rao, a 59-year-old native of Kerala, has held the foreign secretary position of the External Affairs Ministry since July 31, 2009 after previously serving as India’s first female ambassador to China. While she admits that there have been some missteps and areas of contention in recent years, dialogue between India and China is progressing along at a favorable trajectory.

“I think there is a multi-sectoral dialogue with China on the bilateral front and if you look at the global multilateral front, there are increasing areas of convergence,” she said. “And so this is really, as I said, the trajectory along which we hope the dialogue develops.”

Despite China’s nuclear deal with Pakistan for example, or the two countries’ border disputes, Rao believes that the incentives associated with collaboration outweigh any points of contention and that the mechanisms for progressive bilateral talks are already well in place.

“Here in officialdom we deal with realities,” Rao continued. “And let me tell you the reality of the situation is that the border between India and China has been peaceful for the last few decades and the effort from both sides is to ensure that the mechanics that we have put in place for confidence building and for the maintenance of peace and tranquility work well, and there is constant communication between the two sides.”