A leading daily affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party has praised India for pursuing an independent foreign policy which lays the foundations for a solid China-India partnership.
An editorial in the Global Times , which was also published on the website of the People’s Daily , the official newspaper of the government of China, praised India’s independent, interest based, foreign policy, which had upset the China-centric strategic calculations of Japan.
“New Delhi is committed to an independent foreign policy and it is a behemoth even Washington can hardly mobilise wilfully, let alone Tokyo. This reflects India's diplomatic wisdom, in which its huge interests play a decisive role,” noted the daily.
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The newspaper pointed out those better China-India ties is good for India in dealing with Japan and the United States. “China has been regarded as their biggest rival by the U.S. and Japan, who instinctively try to rope in China's neighbours to their cause. A positive New Delhi-Beijing engagement would force Washington and Tokyo to cozy up to India,” the daily observed.
The write-up pointed out that China is pursuing a long-term strategy of engagement with India, on its own merit, irrespective of ties with major powers. “China has a long-term strategy to develop friendly cooperation with India, rather than seeking short-term gain. For us, the Sino-Indian relationship, with its own strategic merits, doesn’t have to be associated with ties with other major powers. Rationality and vision dictate the development of bilateral ties.”
While briefing the Indian media last week, China’s Assistant Foreign Minister, Liu Jianchao stressed that international cooperation was not a “zero sum game,” and China was confident of competing with Tokyo for economic projects in India.
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