China sees India as a partner: Envoy

Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong has said recently that both India and China “should abandon the old mindset of drawing lines by ideology, and get rid of the old game of ‘one’s gain is another’s loss’ and ‘zero-sum game’,” adding that his country wants to put its boundary dispute with India “at an appropriate place” and “push bilateral relations back on track at an early date”. The Chinese envoy to India also claimed that “China sees India as a partner instead of a rival, and an opportunity instead of a threat”, adding further that both countries should “treat each other’s differences in a mature and rational manner” and “properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation”. The comments were released by the Chinese Embassy only on Tuesday but were made a week ago at a “China-India Youth Webinar”. It comes amid reluctance by Chinese PLA troops to move back from their positions in the Ladakh sector despite several rounds of talks at senior diplomatic and military levels between the countries, much to the dismay of India. The Chinese envoy also said China was the “first major country to achieve economic recovery in this (Coronavirus) pandemic”.

The Chinese ambassador said, “As two rising major neighbours, China and India should abandon the old mindset of drawing lines by ideology, and get rid of the old game of “One’s gain is another’s loss” and “zero-sum game”. Otherwise, you would be led astray and go down a wrong path.”