China warms up to welcome Modi

China ready to reciprocate the warmth with which President Xi was received in India by Mr. Modi

China seems to be warming up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media outreach ahead of his visit to the Middle Kingdom next week, by expressing its readiness to advance a “strategic cooperative partnership for peace prosperity” between the two countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying stressed during her regular briefing on Wednesday that ties between China and India, premised on their status as the two leading developing countries, were of global significance. “Bilateral relations take on significant global influence,” she observed, pointing out the status of the two countries as “important emerging economies”.

Founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank, China and India are pioneering a new international financial architecture, which has so far been dominated by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Analysts point out that the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping is also taking root, and its salience is expected to be highlighted in Moscow during the May 9 commemoration of the end of World War II, where Russian President Vladimir Putin would be hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Pranab Mukherjee among the global heads of state.

Ms. Hua pointed out that the “strategic cooperative partnership” between the two countries was mapped during President Xi’s visit to India in September last. That visit triggered an agreement to deepen ties, a willingness to enhance “strategic mutual trust”, expand “pragmatic cooperation” and step up communication and coordination on important regional and international issues.

Ms. Hua stressed that China “deeply appreciates” the warmth with which President Xi was received in India by Mr. Modi. Signalling that China was ready to reciprocate, the spokesperson said that Chinese and the Indian sides were now in close communication to host Mr. Modi. “We believe with our joint efforts we can show Prime Minister Modi that we value China-India relations and his visit to China.”

Referring to specifics, Ms. Hua said that the “boundary question” would be covered during talks. She praised the two countries for maintaining “peace and tranquillity” along the borders, as well as ensuring “positive outcomes” in economy and trade.