BEIJING:The Chinese foreign minister’s recent working visit to India was an important one in the context of the overall international scenario. From the perspective of China-India bilateral relations, it was also an important visit for China to release the greatest goodwill to India.
However, judging from the media reports on this visit, India has not changed its old narrow-minded habit. India is making use of China’s goodwill to maximize its “interests”.
The “interests” are not those in the general sense, but India attempts to continue to push northward in the western section of the China-India border and occupy more Chinese territory while consolidating occupation of the Chinese territory in other parts of the border.
These views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, Visiting Professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and Senior Fellow of the Charhar Institute in a statement on Monday.
He said, moreover, India made it clear this time that only by solving the border issues first, can it have normal exchanges with China. This has set up obstacles for China and India, as two heavyweight emerging market economies, to cooperate in major international affairs.
India must understand that China’s stance on the territorial issue is firm. China has full capability to defend the integrity of its territory and will not lose even an inch of land.
Prof. Cheng, who is also former Chinese Defense Attache’ in South Asian countries, opined that in recent years, India and the United States have been getting closer and closer.
This time, India’s position on the Russian-Ukrainian war and the US and Western sanctions against Russia is basically consistent with that of China and countries advocating justice, but it is by no means a consideration of relations with China. India is playing a game among major powers and trying to maximize its own interests.
He recalled that from the history of China-India relations, every time China took the initiative to improve relations with India, India laid out some conditions. For example, China put forward the idea of “shelving disputes and developing relations” in 1980.
At that time, India responded by first resolving border disputes and then developing relations. After eight years, that is, when then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China in 1988, India accepted China`s proposal.
Throughout the decades of history of China-India relations, China has been committed to making friendship with India, while India has been making troubles for China. As a result, India’s GDP is now only about one fifth of that of China, he concluded.
