China warns India over goods boycott, says ties on the line

NEW DELHI: China on Thursday warned India that a boycott of Chinese goods would hit bilateral ties and investment flow between the two countries.

“China is more concerned that the boycott will negatively affect Chinese enterprises to invest in India and the bilateral cooperation, which both Chinese and Indian people are not willing to see,” Xie Liyan, spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said.

This is the second such warning from the Chinese side in as many weeks.

India is China’s largest trading partner in South Asia. MUMBAI: Despite the ongoing verbal spats between the saffron allies, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday told HT that the allies were being practical and the prevalent thinking in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena was to fight the upcoming Mumbai civic polls together.

Fadnavis said this in an exclusive interaction with HT’S editorial team, ahead of his government completing two years on October 31, at the newspaper’s Elphinstone Road office. In a freewheeling discussion that lasted for more than an hour, the CM took questions on governance, his development agenda, alliance politics and the patriotism debate. “We are practical. The thinking in both parties is that we should go together. [Shiv Sena chief] Uddhav Thackeray is also of the same view,” he said.