NEW DELHI: Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Thursday said that Beijing was committed to peace and was not a ‘strategic threat’ to India. “To move China-India relations forward, I believe that we need to straighten our views on several key issues. First, China is committed to peaceful development, and is not a ‘strategic threat’ to India,” Sun said at a webinar on India-China relations.
The Chinese envoy said that it was short-sighted and harmful to deny long history of peace co-existence between China and India and portray a friendly neighbour for thousands of years as an opponent and strategic threat due to temporary differences and difficulties.
“Our economic and trade exchanges should be positive cycle of mutual accomplishment. It should not become a knockout nor a zero-sum game deliberately suppressing others. We should recognize mutually beneficial and win-win nature and jointly create open, fair, just business environment,” Sun said in what could be perceived as a reaction to India’s ban on Chinese apps following the June 15 violent face-off in Galwan Valley along the LAC.
Sun said while Beijing upholds its sovereignty, it will never engage in aggression or expansion. “China has firmly safeguarded its national sovereignty, security and development interests. We have never been aggressive and pursued our own development at the expense of other countries,” he said.
Weidong said, “At this critical moment, we should handle relations cautiously, calmly and rationally, conform to international trend, always look forward and move forward, resolutely avoid the whirlpool of suspicion and confrontation.” Experts say bilateral ties are important and fights cannot be afforded but words must be translated into actions.