Huge premium in equilibrium between India, China: EAM

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Saturday said that there is a huge premium on reaching “some kind of equilibrium or understanding” between India and China and it is equally in Beijing’s interest.

Speaking at India@75 Summit: Mission 2022 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the minister said that the period of difficulties of the two Asian neighbours was similar and the period of “our re-emergence in a strong way in international politics is also not that very far apart”. “We are a neighbour of China. China is already the second-largest economy in the world. We will one day be the third, you can argue when but we will be...to my mind, what it does is, it puts a huge premium on reaching some kind of equilibrium or understanding between the two because not just in my interest, equally in their interest,” Jaishankar said.

The remarks came amid border tensions between the two countries in Eastern Ladakh.

He said there has been parallel but differential rise of two countries.

“We are demographically very unique countries in the billion-plus population category. We happen to be neighbours. The period of our difficulties was similar which really started at least vis-a-vis the Europeans around the same time frame. The period of our re-emergence in a strong way in international politics is also not that very far apart. We are seeing the parallel but differential rise of the two countries. But all of this is also happening at a time when we are neighbours at least as modern states we are neighbours,” the minister said.

India and China held Major General-level talks on Saturday at Daulat Beg Oldi area to discuss disengagement by the Chinese side along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector, said Indian Army sources. ANI