Improved Sino-Indian relations benefit the global economy through BRICS

India and China are two crucial countries in BRICS and their mutual understanding and cooperation will go a long way in sustaining BRICS and its future prospects, an Indian scholar said.

In a recent interview with the Xinhua News Agency, A. K. Sinha, a retired professor of Delhi University and foreign affairs expert, said the successful meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “an extremely positive sign for BRICS all together.”

The Chinese president’s remarks of putting bilateral relations with India on “the right track” signify stable bilateral ties in the future, Sinha said.

During the ninth BRICS Summit in Xiamen, East China’s Fujian Province, President Xi said China is willing to work with India on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to improve political mutual trust, promote mutually beneficial cooperation and push Sino-Indian ties onto the right track.

Modi agreed that India and China should not see each other as rivals and should instead make cooperation the focus of bilateral ties.

The Indian prime minister said the two sides should advance mutual political trust, expand practical cooperation, increase people-to-people exchanges and jointly protect regional peace and stability.

“This is in consonance with the larger principles of BRICS as well,” Sinha commented.

“Cooperation between the two countries will raise the efficacy of BRICS and make the group a strong contributor to the new global growth order,” he said.

India and China are both influential economies in BRICS, said the Indian scholar, adding that the two countries putting up a united front at BRICS after the recent resolution of the Doklam standoff was a remarkable achievement for the summit. “By finding common ground, BRICS can further make contributions to global economic development,” he said. “BRICS has a bright future.”

The share of BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – in the global economy has risen from 12 percent to 23 percent in the past decade and they collectively contribute more than half of global growth, the professor pointed out.