Academic says China will face attacks head on under Xi Jinping

defended its territorial sovereignty during the Doklam standoff with India while keeping the bigger picture in mind but will never seek peace with a neighbour at the cost of its own interests, according to a leading Chinese academic.

“In the past, we thought we would shelve differences, now we will face them because even if we shelve differences, the other party might not agree to do so. So we now face these problems head-on and safeguard our legitimate interests,” Yuan Peng, vice president of the influential think-tank China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations said on Wednesday.

At an interaction with journalists organised by the AllChina Journalists’ Association, Yuan had some advice regarding the “Quad” or the alliance between the US, India, Japan and Australia for the Indo-Pacific.

“I’m afraid Indo-Pacific will become a kind of trap (for India). It is not so wise for India. India now enjoys balanced relations,” he said.

“Its clear India wants to get close to the US but smart Indian political leaders will not ignore relations with China. That is why we have seen the Indian side is quite cautious.”

Referring to the face-off at Doklam near the Sikkim border, Yuan said it was resolved because China had the bigger picture in mind. “In both the South China Sea (disputes) and in (Doklam), we defended China’s sovereignty, bearing the greater picture in mind,” he said.

“Indeed, on protecting our interests on sovereignty and ensuring a stable and peaceful periphery, it is not so easy to strike a balance. (But) no country will seek a peaceful external environment at the cost of its own interests,” he added.

“President Xi Jinping has talked about peaceful development and also that we will never allow actions that hurt China’s interests. These are not contradictory actions,” he noted.

BEIJING:China