Secret telegram

18 November 1971

From: Amembassy New Delhi

To: Secretary State Washington DC

 

Subj: Sino-Indian Relations

 

1. East European diplomats here report that India plans imminently to raise representation in Peking to ambassadorial level. Kontic of Yugoslav embassy predicts that present Indian Charge in Peking will simply be upgraded to Ambassador. Chinese also appear prepared to respond. Kontic says he asked present Acting Charge Liu Fang-Pu if PRC would send ambassador should GOI make first move and was told qte I think so unqte. Similarly, Liu told Romanian Charge Gheorghe that PRC's Huang Ming-Ta would be returning qte either as Charge or Ambassador, I don't know unqte.

 

2. Recent thank you messages for Indian support in UNGA from Chou En-Lai and Chi Peng-Fei have received prominent press cover­age and have been read as another sign of Chinese willingness to im­prove Sino-Indian relations. Mrs Gandhi's press conference remarks during her European tour, particularly her suggestion that she even prepared to discuss Aksai Chin, are seen here as evidence that India now prepared to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations.

 

3. Nevertheless, Gheorghe claims that PRC embassy officials con­tinue to complain about what they see as petty harassment in day to day dealings with GOI. Chinese, according to Gheorghe, would like fewer statements and more concrete actions by India. He mentioned trade policy as one possibility.

 

Stone

 

 

Source: Bangladesh Liberation War and the Nixon House 1971, Enayetur Rahim and Joyce L. Rahim, Pustaka Dhaka, p – 374 - 375