Common interests with India far outweigh differences: China
BEIJING: China and India’s “common interests far outweigh differences”, and the two sides should put the differences on the border in its appropriate place and seek to resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultation, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has said.
At his first meeting with Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who was appointed as India’s ambassador to China in March, in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang recalled the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping over multiple meetings, especially the two informal summits in Wuhan (2018) and Chennai (2019), that the two countries are partners and not competitors, saying the two sides should support rather than undermine each other and enhance trust rather than be suspicious.
Rawat “emphasised the criticality of maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas for realising the full potential of this consensus,” according to a statement from the Indian embassy.
Wang’s meeting with Rawat ahead of the 14th Brics summit — which is being hosted virtually by Beijing — appears to be China’s attempt to convey a sense of soliMay darity within the group despite serious Sino-India bilateral differences.
He said the two sides “should meet each other halfway to push bilateral relations back onto the track of stable and healthy development at an early date…”
“China and India’s common interests far outweigh their differences… The two sides should support rather than undermine each other, strengthen cooperation rather than guard against each other, and enhance mutual trust rather than be suspicious of each other,” Wang was quoted as telling Rawat, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.
Wang also put forward a fourpoint agenda to define and take forward China’s ties with India, which is going through its worst chill in the backdrop of the dragging military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since 2020.
Over 24 months later, military deployment continues on both sides of the LAC with troops disengaging only partially despite several rounds of diplomatic talks and negotiations between the armed forces.
The four principles Wang mentioned included the requirement to follow the “important strategic consensus” reached by the top leadership of the two countries that “China and India are not competitors, but partners; and China and India will not pose threats to each other but mutual development opportunities”, the Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
“We should place the border issue at an appropriate position in bilateral relations and seek solutions through dialogue and consultation,” according to the second principle listed by Wang.
The remaining two principles were the need to expand “mutually beneficial cooperation” and to “expand multilateral cooperation”, and “jointly cope with the complex world situation”.
Rawat, according to the Chinese statement, said: “India will firmly pursue an independent foreign policy, and is willing to work with China to adhere to the strategic consensus reached by the leaders
of the two countries...”