Ahead of his visit to India, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has rightly expressed optimism that both nations will take steps to find a solution to the boundary issue (“More consensus than differences with India, says Chinese Minister,” June 8). Ironing out differences will augur well for both India and China. The Minister’s visit comes at a perfect time and presents an excellent opportunity for the two countries to understand each other to fight terrorism and help each other in trade and commerce. This is the first step, but from now there needs to be a continuous and concerted approach with this aim.
Balasubramaniam Pavani,
Secunderabad
Drawing parallels with China under the leadership of former leader Deng Xiaoping, who scripted the country’s stupendous growth story, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is apparently well aware of the many opportunities for China in India in the field of infrastructure development. Small wonder then that China is not only keen to complete two of its major projects in India but also enthusiastic about financing many other projects in the pipeline. Evidently, Beijing’s eagerness to invest in India also stems from a compulsion to counter Japan, which has traditionally financed some of India’s most ambitious projects.
Having struck common ground with China on the issue of terrorism, New Delhi must now grab the opportunity to ask China to retract from its practice of issuing stapled visas to people from some parts of India.
Even if Sino-Indian ties seem to be witnessing better times, the grim reality is that the complex border issue cannot be wished away. Further, the trade balance between China and India is skewed. The Narendra Modi government should tactfully address the issue and ensure that the export-import ratio becomes healthier. India needs to ensure that it does not become a dumping ground for Chinese consumer items, a trend that is adversely affecting India’s small-scale industry sector.
Nalini Vijayaraghavan,
Thiruvananthapuram
