Indian experts meet counterparts about cross-border rivers

Chinese observers are calling for honest and practical cooperation between China and India after the two countries resumed talks on crossborder river information this week.

Chinese and Indian water experts met on Monday to talk trans-border river cooperation in the East China city of Hangzhou, China’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.

At the meeting that lasts until Thursday, the two sides re-examined previous emergency procedures, reviewed earlier hydrological data sharing efforts and agreed to continue cooperation, the ministry said.

“Last year when Sino-Indian relations were subtle, China halted data sharing over trans-border rivers,” Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

“But India has also suspected China of making trouble with trans-border rivers, which is irrational,” he said.

China has the geographic advantage of owning the upper reaches of the rivers.

“India should be broadminded enough to understand that China would not play tricks with the rivers,” Hu said.

“The two countries should be practical and honest in cooperating on trans-border rivers, such as exploiting hydropower, of which China has technologies and experience that could help its neighbors,” he said.

The Chinese Embassy in India in January denounced India’s accusation that contamination of the Yarlung Zangbo River – upstream of the Brahmaputra River in India – was caused by Chinese construction projects, the People’s Daily website people.cn reported.

The Chinese side will keep in touch with its Indian counterparts about trans-border rivers through existing channels, the embassy said.