India-China in Xinhua and Global Times

Modi-Xi informal meet has generated a lot of interest in both India and China, even as two of premier Chinese mouthpieces — Xinhua and Global Times — expect a lot out of it.

While accepting mutual distrust on a host of issues, they declared that India and China needed to resolve disputes as they were detrimental for both the countries in one respect or the other. Declaring Chinese bona fides, a Global Times article said China did not want to mitigate Indian development nor besiege it. Rather, Beijing wanted New Delhi as a partner.

Global Times underlined the significance of the meeting as it quoted Chinese vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou who had pointed out that "when the two leaders meet, they will have strategic communication on the most profound and unprecedented changes the world has seen in a century and thoroughly exchange views on the overall, long-term, strategic issues of China-India relations."

The article took into consideration the Doklam standoff when Sino-Indian relations hit the nadir since 1962 China-India war.

Observing that it "was the result of the accumulation of mistrust between the two countries", Global Times acknowledged that India distrust of China was fired by Chinese opposition to permanent membership of the UN Security Council and India's bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group was also opposed by China.

On the other hand China also had "many doubts" about India such as the Tibet issue and India's opposition to the Belt and Road initiative when India also "warned South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka to reject it, apart from Chinese apprehension that India, with US and Japan, was trying to form a NATO-type strategic body in Asia.

But it also underlined that"confrontation between China and India does not fit their interests. Disputes must be controlled."

"During the Xi-Modi meeting, China should let India know that Beijing does not define New Delhi as an opponent, nor seek to hinder its development. The purpose of cooperation between China and South Asian countries is not to besiege India."

"Likewise, India should never use Tibet as a bargaining chip. India should let China believe that it will never take part in an Asian version of NATO or the Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at opposing China."

Meanwhile, a Xinhua article made an economic logic for the two countries to become cooperative partners. The article said that the "tete-a-tete" between the two leaders was going to set a stage for exchanging views "over long-term and strategic issues" and "to initiate fresh momentum for future bilateral cooperation."

"China is the largest trading partner of India. Both are huge developing countries and the world's major emerging economies which offer huge opportunities for each other's trade market,"the article said, adding, "Across the globe, economic nationalism and trade protectionism is on the rise, while the combat against non-traditional security threats such as climate change, trans-national crimes and terrorism have become increasingly demanding. No nation can face these challenges alone."