New Delhi, Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, China on Thursday pitched for concrete actions to march together with India while underlining the need for going “beyond the mode of differences management” and jointly making the “cake of cooperation even bigger”.
Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said the two countries needed to look at each other positively and “properly address differences through dialogue and consultation and expand consensus.”
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Weidong said the two countries needed to move “under the guidance of the important consensus” between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “continue to unleash the positive effects of the Wuhan informal summit” and “move in the right direction”.
The two neighbours needed to “transmit the leaders’ consensus to all levels, and gather positive energy to promote the development of China-India relations,” he said.
“It is necessary to go beyond the mode of differences management, focus on actively shaping the bilateral relations and jointly make the cake of cooperation even bigger,” the Chinese envoy told the gathering, which included senior officials of the External Affairs Ministry and some politicians.
“China and India as major emerging countries need to actively explore ways to get along with each other. We need to view each other as positive factors in the changing world landscape, and regard each other as partners in realising our development dreams in a positive, open and inclusive manner,” Weidong said.
Invoking the Father of the Nation, the Chinese Ambassador said, “Mahatma Gandhi once said that an ounce of practice is worth a thousand words. Let’s seize the opportunities, take concrete actions, march together on the path of pursuing the Chinese dream and building ‘New India’ and continue to promote a closer development partnership between China and India.”
Noting that the next year will mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and India, he said, “Let’s strive to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, and create a better future for Asia and even for the world at large.”
Underlining the need for deepening “practical cooperation in all fields”, Weidong favoured expansion of people-to-people and cultural exchanges and enhancement of mutual understanding and trust.
“We need to properly address the differences through dialogue and consultation and expand consensus,” the envoy said.
Emphasising that China “resolutely” safeguards its sovereignty, security and development interests, Weidong said his country “will never bully others, nor will it be bullied.”
He said China is an important defender of world peace and stability and “firmly pursues an independent foreign policy of peace”, respects the right of all countries to independently choose their own path of development, and upholds international equity and justice.
“We oppose imposing one’s own will on others, interfering in other countries’ internal affairs, and bullying of the weak by the strong,” the Chinese envoy said.
