India ready to work with China on beneficial ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping said yesterday that healthy and stable relations between China and India are in line with the fundamental interests of their people.

China is willing to work with India to improve political trust, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and push Sino-Indian ties along the right track, he said.

Xi was meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Xiamen after the 9th BRICS Summit.

China and India should see each other as development opportunities rather than threats, Xi said, adding that peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the only right choices for the two countries.

India should see China’s development correctly and rationally, he said.

Modi agreed that India and China should not see each other as rivals and should instead make cooperation the focus of bilateral relations.

He said India is ready to work with China to develop stable ties.

Modi said he expects the leaders of the two countries to maintain close communication and play a leading role in developing ties.

Xi said the leaders of China and India had in recent years reached wide consensus on how to advance bilateral ties, agreed on building a closer partnership, and set long-term development goals.

The meeting came after a military stand-off lasting more than two months with more than 270 Indian troops with two bulldozers crossing the boundary in mid-June into the Dong Lang area, which is Chinese territory, to obstruct infrastructure construction.

On August 28, China confirmed that India had withdrawn personnel and equipment from Dong Lang, and said Chinese armed forces would strengthen patrols and defense of the area.

Xi said the two sides should maintain mutual respect, seek common ground while shelving differences, and safeguard peace in border areas.

China and India should also strengthen coordination on global affairs to strive for a fairer and more just world order, he said.