New York: China’s top diplomat in Bangladesh Li Jiming said that his country does not have any “strategic rivalry” with India and does not want to see a “heavily armed” Bay of Bengal.
Li also said that India and China can closely work together to resolve any economic, geopolitical and other issues in this region and beyond.
“We never view India as a strategic rival or strategic competitor of China,” Ambassador Li said during an interaction with diplomatic correspondents based here.
“Personally, I’m a big fan of India. We can work together more closely to solve economic and geopolitical issues,” he added. He said Beijing “does not want to see the Bay of Bengal as heavily armed.”
In an apparent reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said Beijing expected all stakeholders in South Asia to play a positive role and it also wanted them not to act “the way some countries are doing (currently) in Europe”.
The diplomat’s comments came on a day when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed to outgoing Chinese Ambassador in New Delhi Sun Weidong that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for normal ties between India and China.
The diplomat’s comments comes on a day when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar conveyed to outgoing Chinese Ambassador in New Delhi Sun Weidong that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for normal ties between India and China.
The envoy said that China’s basic intention was to resolve all regional disputes in an “Asian way” instead of heeding western suggestions.
“We (China) believe we should solve our regional problems in Asian way, not by (following) standard practice in Europe or South America,” he said.
