“Once again, in the larger interest of peace and stability in the region, as also in the global context, Pakistan has indicated the possibility that the two countries may consider a bilateral arrangement, which is reflective of its policy of promoting restraint and responsibility in South Asia and its consistent support for the objectives of the CTBT”, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakria was quoted as saying.
Advertisement
However, the article expressed pleasure over the fact that India has preferred to remain neutral on South China dispute despite the pressure from Washington and Tokyo.
Calling for a “solid step forward” to improve relations, the article said “admittedly, there are some contradictions and frictions between China and India, but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly”.
It also cautioned that turning into enemies was not in the interest of either of them.
“For the moment, when we talk about Sino-India ties, we tend to use the phrase “relations are generally stable without major conflicts”.
Acknowledging problems in the bilateral collaboration on economic and trade issues which “used to be one of the most positive parts of the bilateral relations, it said “joint works in this regard have not been going smoothly in recent years”.
“Over the years, bilateral joint works are unfolding in a variety of fields such as worldwide trade, environmental protection, infrastructure projects, and anti-terrorism, as well as energy security”.
A state-run Chinese paper has said that the main reason behind India’s trade deficit with China is the fact that “Indian products are not competitive”. Prime Minister Modi is trying hard to strengthen India’s ties with China and Beijing appreciates his effort, said the editorial.
Advertisement
The daily clearly mentioned in its editorial that the visiting minister did not discuss the South China Sea dispute with the top Indian political leadership, stressing that Beijing would not “beg” a favour from New Delhi on any particular issue. At times, India’s big brother attitude was mostly read in negative light by many of these neighbours and China has quietly crept into this zone.
