'As China rises and India grows to reclaim their earlier positions on the world stage as two of the largest economies and most important countries, there will indeed be some contention between these two powers.' 'There will also be plenty of space and room for cooperation amongst the two of us.' 'As our economic size increases to match the fact that we are the two most populous nations on earth, it will be all the more important for us to keep the interests of our peoples as well as those of the rest of the world in mind.' 'We shall have to grow together rather than as separate and disparate entities,' points out Ambassador Gautam Bambawale -- who served as India's ambassador to China -- in the 7th annual lecture of the Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents on March 1, 2019.
'The world does not care about the tension on our border.' 'India has to emerge as a strong economic power.' 'Respect comes when the world sees a country with a direction and leadership that has a vision,' points out Ramesh Menon.
Only he, with his tremendous political capital and personal stature, can pull it off, observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant.
The Tibet issue should not become a barrier in the bilateral relations between India and China, Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Professor Samdhong Rinpoche said on Tuesday.
The BRICS summit made clear that China's support for Pakistan is unwavering. China will continue to pressure India to ease tensions with Pakistan and resolve the Kashmir dispute.
'It could have moved from the use of small arms to artillery fire.' 'Anything could have happened like what happens on the LoC.'
Ahead of his visit to Beijing, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said India-China relations are in "very good shape" and negotiations are underway to resolve the "complicated" border issue.
Gokhale's visit for bilateral consultations is taking place amid renewed optimism that the vexed issue of listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the United Nations, which has been stalled by China, is headed for a resolution in the coming weeks
On his recent visit to China, the President made eminently sensible suggestions to improve relations except that they can't work in the present atmosphere.
The Modi-Xi meeting assumes significance as India-China relations have followed a southward trajectory over contentious issues.
Until now, the state-run Chinese media had only made factual reporting on the Indo-US nuclear deal. However, Beijing seems to have given the go-ahead to People's Daily to attack the deal.
Modi was expected to arrive in Wuhan in the evening on April 26 and join Xi in the informal summit at a picturesque location the next day.
'It doesn't look as if any sensible, worldly wise, person is in charge in China.' 'If at all anybody is in charge, it can only be a bunch of bumpkins of whom Xi has become a puppet,' observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant.
The External Affairs Minister said the Wuhan informal summit was held without any agenda and without having any objective to discuss any specific issue.
Tang Jiaxuan, State Councillor and former Foreign Minister, will hold wide-ranging discussions with Indian officials.
'India stands to gain immensely by forging a developmental partnership with China.' 'While through sustained strategic communication there is scope to steadily expand the commonality of interests between the two countries.' 'This is also a practical way to ensure that differences do not get over-magnified and become disputes,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The Chinese made their point repeatedly after August 5. They backed Pakistan more overtly than in the past.' 'Kashmir is not completely off their radar. But in order to keep the atmosphere surrounding the Chennai meeting, they did not discuss Kashmir.'
Wu said both the countries are also in consultations to work on a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the defence ministries.
This was the first round of talks for Wang after he succeeded State Councillor Yang Jiechi earlier this year.
Dying To Survive, on its way to becoming China's biggest box office hit, may compel the Xi Jinping government to change its policy towards Indian pharmaceutical companies, says Tarun Vijay.
China has lodged a protest with India for hosting a Taiwanese parliamentary delegation and asked it to deal "prudently" with Taiwan-related matters but New Delhi on Wednesday dismissed the issue saying no "political meanings" should be read into such trips.
'The scheduling of Imran Khan's visit to Beijing and its focus on the J&K situation underscores that Beijing shares the Pakistani concern that tensions with India are only going to escalate further in the period ahead,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'From the Indian perspective, Trump's invitation to Imran Khan to visit the White House is a bitter pill to swallow,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi said both India and China need to be "sensitive" to each other's strategic interests and called for specific actions to "prevent growth of negative perception".
'Isn't it in India's long-term interests that Tibet-related issues do not remain a point of discord in Sino-Indian relations?' asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The prime minister started off his remarks at the meeting in Tamil, welcoming China to the talks, which were held right after one-on-one discussions between Modi and Xi at the Taj Fisherman's Cove Hotel.
'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.'
'That is important for Modi politically when he launches a do-or-die campaign seeking a renewed mandate in the 2019 poll,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Modi told President Xi that he has made efforts to improve ties with Islamabad but these efforts have been "derailed".
India and China have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas which was a "pre-requisite" for continued growth of bilateral relations as also to enhance cooperation in key areas, including counter-terrorism, maritime security and civil nuclear energy sector.
Modi should bluntly ask Chinese President Xi Jinping why he was willing to put his neck in the Pakistani noose, ignoring all that is known of Pakistan's perfidy, says B S Raghavan.
China, however, remained ambiguous about the status of its own troops.
Outlining eight "pillars" for the future of India-China relations, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday underlined the need for comprehensively resolving challenges including the boundary question through "political acumen" and "civilisational wisdom".
Khan's visit evoked considerable interest in Beijing as it comes in the wake of his past criticism of the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects and remarks by his ministers to cut down some of the projects over debt concern.
President Xi Jinping's visit may put relations between India and China on a new trajectory
'The fact that Modi and Xi exuded confidence to accelerate the negotiations for a border settlement alone underscores that the Russia-India-China triangle has become very dynamic,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The biggest challenge Swaraj and Sitharaman will face is how far they can take their counterparts Pompeo and Mattis seriously.' 'One just doesn't know how long they will even keep their jobs.' 'They are basically salesmen peddling American wares.' 'Actually, there is nothing like 'American policies' in the Trump era,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India is a time for the two countries to get away from the haze of rhetoric and stale euphoria, says Sana Hashmi.
'It must be rendering Modi, Amit Shah and Adityanath speechless that the Indian diplomat who lifted the Azhar trophy at the UN in New York is also a Muslim. 'Yes, this is the wonder that was India,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances