Thaindian News

Beijing, Feb 21 (IANS) The possibility of friendly cooperation between China and India is much greater than of them walking towards a war, a state-run daily said as it noted that their relations were being tested by the US’ strategic adjustment in the Asia-Pacific region.

An opinion piece “China, India should treat competition rationally” in the People’s Daily ahead of the BRICS sumit in New Delhi said Monday that in recent years, both countries have maintained good coordination and cooperation in dealing with major international affairs, including border issues.

“Far-sighted governmental officials of India propose to desert the Cold War mentality and rationally consider competition between China and India to promote the development of the China-India relations,” it said.

The fourth meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) leaders will be held in New Delhi in March.

The daily said that the world has entered the second decade of the 21st century, and “the development of the China-India relations is being tested by the United States’ strategic adjustment in the Asia-Pacific Region, which will have a complicated and in-depth influence on the future of China-India relations”.

The US announced its “return to the Asia-Pacific region” in 2010.

Referring to the first US-Japan-India trilateral dialogue last year, the daily said that one of the main topics of the dialogue is how to deal with China’s growing global military and political status.

“India’s participation put it into the `diplomatic network’ jointly established by the United States and Japan with the purpose of besieging China,” it said.

The opinion piece stated that the US is now actively building a new Asia-Pacific strategic structure in favour of itself and accelerating its pace of strategic eastward.

It went on to say: “Both China and India are the world’s largest developing countries and emerging economies. The two countries have many common strategic interests, notwithstanding certain differences.”

“China and India have similar views and common strategic needs in many aspects of international affairs, and share common understanding and value judgments in quite many fields.”

The daily added: “…the possibility for both countries to make friendly cooperation is much greater than that of walking toward conflicts and war.”

“China and India need to deal with bilateral relations from a strategic perspective and actively adopt pragmatic foreign policies based on mutual cooperation and strategic partnership to achieve a deeper and deeper Sino-Indian relationship.”