The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India

by Vijay Gokhale

This soft public approach was combined with evasive replies whenever Indian representatives raised the NSG issue with Chinese counterparts. This issue was raised on more than one occasion by both the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan. 9 The Chinese would invariably respond by showing ‘understanding’ for India’s position but always with the caveat that all nuclear-related activity should be within the framework of international obligations. Chinese counterparts never referred directly to the NPT or the CTBT in these conversations. This is a typical Chinese negotiating tactic that is designed to generate hope in the opposite interlocutor that the door for further discussion remains open, without disclosing the specific Chinese position.