With tension at border, Chinese envoy talks of peace in India

NEW DELHI: As armies of India and China get embroiled in a major standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, China on Wednesday said the realization of “Dragon and Elephant dancing together” is the “only right choice” for China and India.

Sun Weidong, Ambassador of China to India, in his “peace and friendship” message, said it will serve the fundamental interests of both the countries.

He was interacting with Indian youths in a webinar organized by the Confederation of Young Leaders (CYL) on Wednesday when he called upon the Indian youths to actively voice their support for China-India friendship.

“The realization of “Dragon and Elephant dancing together” is the only right choice for China and India, which serves the fundamental interests of our two countries and two peoples. As the two major emerging economies, China and India should strengthen practical cooperation in investment, production capacity, and other fields, and expand the cake of common interests. China hopes to develop itself and India as well. The two countries should help each other to accomplish their respective goals and “light up” each other,” said the Chinese ambassador.

Without making direct reference to the ongoing face-off between the troops of both the nations, Sun said while fighting COVID-19, China and India were also facing the important task to consolidate and strengthen bilateral relations.

Sun said, “I hope that the youth of our two countries could realize the importance of developing China-India relations and deepen your understanding of the important consensus reached by our two leaders. We should adhere to the basic judgment that China and India are each other’s opportunities and pose no threat to each other. We should correctly view our differences and never let the differences shadow the overall situation of bilateral cooperation.”

In a ‘piece’ of advice, the Chinese ambassador said both the nations should gradually seek understanding through communication and constantly resolve differences.

“As the two major emerging economies, China and India should strengthen practical cooperation in investment, production capacity, and other fields, and expand the cake of common interests. China hopes to develop itself and India as well. The two countries should help each other to accomplish their respective goals and “light up” each other.”

Sun Weidong tossed up the issue of conspiracy theories emerging at the time when various countries are fighting the demon of COVID-19 and refuted the claims that China concealed an epidemic situation.

“As the countries unite to fight the epidemic, many ‘conspiracy theories’ also appear, such as ‘China concealing epidemic situation’ and ‘virus originating from Wuhan lab’. We need to be highly vigilant that the ‘political virus’ is jumping at any opportunity to attack and slander China. The coronavirus is a novel virus unseen in the past, and it takes time to study and understand it. China has provided timely information to the world in an open, transparent, and responsible manner. We did not cover up anything and did not delay any efforts. Identifying the source of the virus is a serious and complex issue of science, which should be studied and explored by scientists and medical experts,” he said.

The Chinese envoy claimed that the top leaders of both countries were in close contact and shared information to jointly fight the coronavirus outbreak.

“Since the outbreak, China and India have maintained close communication and cooperation on epidemic prevention and control. Our two leaders President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have exchanged letters, and our foreign ministers made phone calls twice to strengthen our anti-epidemic cooperation, said Sun.

“Since the outbreak of the epidemic in India, we also feel for the pain and extend a helping hand in time. As sister provinces and cities, Guangdong Province and Chongqing City have respectively donated medical supplies to Gujarat State and Chennai City. Alibaba, Fosun, SANY Group, and other Chinese enterprises and charities have assisted India with a large number of medical supplies such as facial and protective masks, protective suits, medical gloves, and ventilators.”

The ambassador said China provided India with various conveniences and assistance for its commercial procurement in China.

“The Civil Aviation Administration of China has set up a “green channel” and approved 45 Indian cargo flights from India to transport medical supplies. China has timely shared its experiences in epidemic prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment with the Indian side in different ways including holding video conferences for experts. China will continue to support India within its capacity and strengthen our medical and health cooperation,” Sun added.

While quoting Xi Jinping, the ambassador said that the Chinese President pointed out that “young people should become the new force promoting friendship between our two peoples.” He said that he hoped the youth of China and India would contribute more wisdom and strength to promoting China-India friendship and the development of bilateral relations.

“First, actively voice your support for China-India friendship. Call on all parties to make concrete efforts to implement the consensus reached by our two leaders. Second, make contributions in various fields and promote win-win cooperation between China and India. Third, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and dialogue among civilizations. Constantly broaden your horizons, enhance mutual learning, mutual understanding, and mutual trust,” he added.