Beijing : With the much-anticipated BRICS Summit set to be hosted by New Delhi later this week, India’s Ambassador to China, Vikram Doraiswami, has made a strong pitch for leveraging the upcoming high-level meeting to deepen bilateral partnerships across crucial sectors, including trade, economy, climate action, and the digital sphere.
In an opinion piece published in the Chinese daily Global Times, the envoy emphasised that as two of the world's most populous emerging economies, a "stable, predictable, and amicable" relationship between India and China serves not only their combined population of 2.8 billion people but also acts as a vital pillar for global peace, stability, and prosperity.
Highlighting the significance of the multilateral platform, Ambassador Doraiswami noted, "As we look toward the upcoming BRICS summit hosted by India, there is a valuable opportunity to deepen China-India cooperation on issues of mutual concern, from trade and connectivity to climate action, public health and the digital economy, while contributing constructively to a more balanced, inclusive and equitable global order."
Referencing top-level diplomatic engagements from the previous year, the Ambassador recalled Chinese President Xi Jinping’s statement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he affirmed that India and China are "cooperation partners, not rivals," and represent development opportunities for each other rather than threats. Doraiswami remarked that this perspective aligns with the long, shared history of mutually beneficial contacts between the two ancient civilisations.
“Last year, President Xi Jinping told Prime Minister Modi that China and India are cooperation partners, not rivals, and that the two countries are each other's development opportunities rather than threats. This perspective is in keeping with the long history of mutually beneficial contact between our two civilisations,” he wrote. Addressing the core foundation of bilateral ties, the envoy underlined that "peace and tranquillity in the China-India border areas provide an essential foundation for this partnership." He called for moving forward guided by "mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest," while stressing the importance of ensuring that natural differences between nations do not turn into disputes.
“In doing so, our partnership can contribute to the well-being of our two peoples and to a more stable, peaceful and prosperous world,” the envoy highlighted. Tracing back to ancient networks, Ambassador Doraiswami outlined how the two nations historically exchanged philosophy, medicine, and goods like sugar, paper, and spices, continuing a legacy of mutual learning through their respective paths toward national liberation. Shifting focus to modern developments, the Ambassador presented India as a rapidly transforming nation, driven by political stability and consistent growth around 7 per cent.
"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a decade, among the more remarkable achievements of India are the fact that electricity has reached 100 percent of rural and urban India, and that the proportion of Indians with bank accounts has risen from around 40 to over 80 percent," he stated, adding that India has virtually obviated the need for cash while expanding its space, tech, and youthful innovation ecosystem.
The envoy’s remarks come even as China on Wednesday said that it attaches high importance to BRICS cooperation and supports India in successfully hosting this year’s leaders’ summit. The summit, hosted by India is also likely to see Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance.