New Delhi, July 30 (ANI): China would like to have friendly relations with both India and Pakistan, senior members of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party said here today.

Participating in an interaction at Observer Research Foundation, the Central Committee members said China would not like to distinguish between India and Pakistan as it is against its policy of maintaining friendly relations with all its neighbours.

Liu Mingbo, leader of the delegation and director general of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission of the CPC, and Luo Zongyi, director general of the party school, were replying to questions on China’s policy towards Pakistan and their nuclear cooperation.

“We will not distinguish one country from another since we would like to promote cooperation with all our neighbouring countries”, Liu Mingbo told Indian scholars who raised the point of how India-China relations are being affected because of China’s close cooperation with Pakistan, which is an “adversary” of India.

M.K. Rasgotra, President of ORF Centre for International Relations and a former Foreign Secretary, said India is not against China’s cooperation with Pakistan per se, but because of its terrorist activities against India and in the region.

Rasgotra said India cannot tolerate any more the terrorist activities being indulged in by Pakistan.

“Pakistan’s terrorist activities are a big worry for India and other countries in the region as well. There is no barrier to cooperation with Pakistan, but it should not be against India’s interests,” he told the 11-member Chinese delegation consisting of Sun Haiyan, deputy director general, international depart of the CPC, Yuan Xiang, vice inspector, the publicity department of the Central Committee of the CPC, Gao Fei, deputy director general, the United Front work department of the Central Committee of CPC and others.

The other members were Shang Ying, director, CCCPC Policy Research Office, Nie Yifeng, deputy director, central discipline inspection commission of CCCPC, Xu Xiaobing, deputy director, organization department, CCCPC, Sui Xiawei, Third Secretary, International department of CPC, Wang Wei, Third Secretary, International Department of CPC.

Rasgotra said it is an age of ‘Asia consciousness” and the times of alliances against one another are out now. “Each important country in the world should interact with each other,” he said, adding that the long tradition of India-China friendship demands that, in our common border regions, the armed forces of our two countries should stand face to face, not in confrontation, but in postures marked by camaraderie and friendship.”

He said the growing harmony between our two nations must not be allowed to be tarnished by unnecessary adversarial patrolling and avoidable skirmishes on the Line of Control.

“Asia’s two largest countries together bear unprecedented responsibility to ensure peace and harmony in Asia and in the world,” Rasgotra said to the nodding of heads by the Chinese members in agreement.

The Chinese leaders admitted that there were different difficult challenges to met by the party leadership as the nation of 1.3 billion population is growing rapidly. But Liu and Luo stressed that these challenges would be addressed by the party through innovative ideas and methods for the betterment of peasants and rural people, which is the party’s top priority.

“In the last 60 years, the party has achieved tangible results, including modernization of the country,” Liu pointed out, adding the party would vigorously continue its ‘reform and innovate for governance’ programme.

Noted author Prem Shankar Jha raised the issues of China’s relations with Pakistan and the Tibet issue, and said all these issues can be solved through negotiations. Air Commodore (retd) Jasjit Singh stressed the need for military to military contact and transparency in defence related issues for building better trust. (ANI)