NEW DELHI: Speaking out against what he described as "unilateralism and bullying" that has led to a new period of "turbulence and transformation", Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong Monday said Beijing was ready to welcome more Indian companies to promote their products and invest in China.
He expressed hope that India too would provide a "fair, just, and non-discriminatory" business environment for Chinese enterprises. Calling Trump's tariffs on India "unfair and unreasonable", Xu said US has long benefited from free trade but is now weaponising tariff to seek "exorbitant costs" from various countries.
On the Pakistan factor in ties, he said, "Sino-Indian ties are not impacted by any third country." He added that both countries were victims of terrorism and needed to work together to combat the threat.
Xu said direct flights between the two countries would resume shortly. He reiterated the "consensus" reached last month in Special Representative (SR) talks on complicated boundary issues, including setting up of an expert group for an "early harvest package" under Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) for boundary delimitation in India-China border area.
He said the consensus reached in the "very successful" visit by Chinese SR and foreign minister has provided impetus to ongoing efforts to improve ties and seek a formal resolution of the boundary issue.
"China and India enjoy close economic and trade relations. Bilateral trade in goods has grown steadily, reaching $88 billion in the first seven months of this year, with a year-on-year increase of 10.5%. China stands ready to strengthen the synergy of development strategies and share experience in modernisation with India," said Xu, speaking at a seminar in the Chinese embassy following Xi-Modi meeting last week in Tianjin.
On global cooperation, Xu said, "China and India, as important members of the Global South, should work together to uphold international fairness and justice and promote global peace and prosperity."
"Together, we should advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, firmly oppose any form of tariff and trade wars, jointly uphold the multilateral trading system, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and contribute to the collective rise of the Global South," he added.
Xu called for handling the relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective, looking at each other as development opportunity instead of threat.
"We should uphold harmonious coexistence, further enhance bilateral relations through the Tianjin meeting, and explore the right way for neighbouring major countries to coexist based on mutual respect and trust, peaceful coexistence, common development, and win-win cooperation," said the ambassador.