Beijing, March 7
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that “some setbacks” in China-India relations in recent years are not in the fundamental interests of both the countries even as he stated that differences over the vexed boundary issue and territory should not “interfere with the bigger picture of bilateral cooperation”.
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Wang, who is also China’s Special Representative on the India-China boundary question along with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, expressed the hope that China and India will be “partners for mutual success instead of adversaries of mutual attrition.”
“China, India relations have encountered some setbacks in recent years which don’t serve the fundamental interests of two countries and the two peoples,” Wang said in his annual press conference here on the sidelines of China’s parliament session.
China and India should be partners rather than rivals, he said, replying to a question from PTI that the relations continue to remain at rock bottom for the third year in succession and how Beijing sees the ties evolving this year.
Wang said that some forces have always sought to stoke tensions between China and India, in an apparent reference to the US.
“As regards the boundary question, it is left over from history,” he said, repeating Beijing’s stand.
“China has all along advocated managing differences through equal footing consultation and actively seeking a fair and equitable settlement and meanwhile not letting it affect or interfere with the bigger picture of bilateral cooperation,” he said.
Additionally, Wang said, “I am talking about issues related to the boundary and territory. I think people should understand this.”
He, however, did not elaborate on his remarks on “boundary and territory”, which were regarded by observers here as something new.
The relations between the two countries nose-dived after the eastern Ladakh standoff in 2020 following China moving thousands of troops to several disputed areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which was strongly objected to and resisted by India.
Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that India’s relationship with China is right now going through a “very difficult phase” after Beijing violated agreements not to bring military forces to the border.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2022 in Germany, Jaishankar had said India was having a problem with China along the LAC.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the Indian and Chinese armies completed the disengagement process in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and Gogra areas but the standoff continued in the Hot Springs area.
The two sides so far held 14 rounds of Commanders level talks to resolve the eastern Ladakh standoff.
Also in a veiled attack on the United States on the formation of Quad alliance comprising the US, India, Japan and Australia, Wang said, “as we have seen some forces have always sought to stoke tension between China and India and division between the regions. Their attempts have put more and more thoughtful people in reflection and on alert.”
“More people have come to realise that for China and India, both major countries with a population of over a billion, only by staying independent can we firmly grasp our own destiny and realise our goals of development and rejuvenation,” he said.
Answering another question, Wang said the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy is becoming a byword for “bloc politics’”.
“The US professes a desire to advance regional cooperation, but in reality it is stoking geopolitical rivalry. It talks a lot about returning to multilateralism, but in reality, it is forming exclusive clubs. It claims to uphold international rules, but in reality it is setting and imposing rules that suit itself and its acolytes,” he said.
Wang criticised the US policies in the Asia-Pacific region- strengthening the Five Eyes intelligence network, “peddling the “Quad” security dialogue, piecing together AUKUS (Australia, US and UK) and tightening bilateral military alliances”.
“This is by no means some kind of blessing for the region, but a sinister move to disrupt regional peace and stability,” he said.
Wang said the US purposes are to maintain the US-led system of hegemony, undermine the ASEAN-cantered regional cooperation architecture and compromise the overall and long-term interests of countries in the region.
“The perverse actions run counter to the common aspiration of the region for peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcomes. They are doomed to fail,” he added.
Elaborating on China’s stand on Sino-India relations, he said China and India have a combined population of over 2.8 billion and account for one-third of humanity, and when the two countries active stability and prosperity and living in peace and harmony, global peace and prosperity will have a solid foundation.
“As an Indian proverb goes, help your own brother’s boat across and your own will reach the shore. We hope that India will work with China to uphold the strategic consensus that our two countries pose no threat, offer development opportunities to each other and continue to build mutual trust, avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation so that we will be partners for mutual success instead of adversaries of mutual attrition,” he said.
He said the two neighbours “must make sure that our relationship moves forward on the right track, bring more benefits to our peoples and make greater contribution to the region and the world.
