I know. You urgently want to know what flavor ice cream cone the president had today.
Meanwhile, on the top of the world, the world's two most populous countries are developing a chilly cold war. Last year the Chinese snuck a bit into Indian territory (from what used to be Tibet, of course), and stole a little land. They had a brutal hand-to-hand fight with Indian troops, which resulted it seems in a couple dozen or so deaths on both sides. For the past several years, China has built some 600 "border defense" towns in Tibet (called "well-off," because residents are subsidized in various ways to live there thousands of dollars a year, unusual for Tibet), encouraging locals to graze animals on land claimed by Bhutan, or perhaps India, with an eye at nibbling away at the Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh.
Now here's a paragraph from an article in the Chinese press, which I'll translate roughly below:
在西藏边境地区，抵边生活，贴边生产，已成为守疆卫土的有效方式。据《环球时报》记者近日在西藏多地的走访与观察发现，固边安民、乡村固边政策让许多边民住进了新房、学会了新技能、有了新工作。而这些地区的有声有色的小康村建设，甚至引来了外界的“特殊”关注：在不久前的报道中，印度媒体就气急败坏地指责中国在与印度和不丹交界的边境地区兴建的几百座小康村 “动机不纯”。这种贼喊捉贼的说法令人啼笑皆非。他们无法理解的是，作为守边固边兴边的前沿阵地，边境小康村的村民们像格桑花一样扎根在这里，守护神圣国土、建设幸福家园。
"In Tibet's border regions, living and producing on the edge has already become a successful method for those guarding the border. According to 'Around the World Times,' as reporters visited and interviewed (locals), they found the policy of pacifying the people and villages of the border has allowed many border peples to move into new homes, learn new skills, and get new jobs. Indeed, the construction of these colorful and lively 'Prosperity Villages' has seized the 'particular' attention of the outsider world: in a recent report, the Indian media abrupted accused China of having 'impure motives' in constructing several hundred 'Prosperity Villages' on the border of Butan and India. This talk, like a thief crying out 'Thief!' is self-evidently ridiculous. What they don't understand is, as front-line regions for protecting and (developing), the people of border 'Prosperity Villages' are like cosmos planting their roots here, preserving the holy land of our nation, building a prosperous family garden."
Readers posted supportive comments at the end of the article, from "how beautiful our country is," to anger directed at India.
If you're still wondering about the president's plans for ice cream -- I think it's going to be Rocky Road for a while.
China has always been and continues to be able to make astute use of ‘soft power’! Be it in southeast Asia or Africa or the Indian borders, winning people over with some sort of genuine economic prosperity has always been China’s game. The Chinese perhaps understand too well the critical value of money and wealth. And implemented with ‘communist’ discipline is barely short of getting anyone’s applause.
India and the rest of the world should up our usage of soft power for betterment of others, withstanding our political ambitions and motives. I just can’t blame Japan and Italy for producing better and more sophisticated cars than the famous Maruti.