New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS) Noting that India does not view the rise of China as a threat, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor Sunday said the two countries cannot afford to have a relationship of “antagonism”.
“The government of India does not view China or China’s development as a threat of any kind,” Tharoor said in his valedictory address of a three-day conference on “Emerging China” organised by Indian Council for World Affairs and Association for Asian Scholars.

The conference hosted at Sapru House was attended by academics from China, South East Asia and Europe.

“India is not an obstacle to China’s aspirations, far less an instrument for its containment, as was wrongly suggested by some,” the minister said.

Tharoor urged Chinese scholars and commentators to broaden and deepen their understanding of India.

“Equally, knowledge and scholarship of China in our country needs to be augmented. We need to understand China better,” he said.

He said scholars have “an important role to provide a compass to the government and the public and help us pursue our enlightened self-interest with an emerging China”.

The minister also took a dig at the media for hyping up relations between the two countries.

“It would help if the media, which has not always been constructive on this issue, plays a more responsible role.”

India “cannot afford to have a relationship of antagonism” against China, he said. “Dialogue and diplomacy hold key to resolving these differences.”

He noted that both countries agreed two decades ago not to let border issue impede bilateral relations.

“Indeed, our relationships have become so multifaceted, strategic and intricate that the nature of stakeholders in our relations have changed and broadened to include the wider civil society in both nations.”

Tharoor said not only have the borders remained largely peaceful, but economic ties have bloomed and reached $50 billion annually.