'Stop feeding the dragon if it is biting back': Head of Tibetan govt-in-exile on Sino-India trade

India's trade policy has to be more strategic, Penpa Tsering said

Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (political leader) of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration. Credit: Reuters File Photo

Asking India to pursue a more strategic trade policy with China, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, said New Delhi should “stop feeding the dragon if you cannot tame it and it is biting back”.

Tsering, who is on a three-day visit to Shimla and would call on Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu besides visiting Tibetan colonies, called for transatlantic cooperation to check China.

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“You are feeding the dragon every day and then saying it is biting back. Stop feeding the dragon if you are not able to tame it and it is biting back,” he told reporters while replying to queries, adding India's trade policy has to be more strategic rather than just buying more from China and selling less to it.

According to official data released by China in January, the trade between India and China touched an all-time high of $135.98 billion in 2022 while New Delhi's trade deficit with Beijing crossed for the first time a $100 billion mark despite frosty bilateral relations.

Tsering, who is the head (Sikyong) of the Dharamshala-based Tibetan government-in-exile, said the US alone can't contain China and transatlantic cooperation is needed to check the dragon.

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"The United States has realised it in the past 20 years and taken a strong position while Europe is waking up from slumber after Russia attacked Ukraine," he said.

“We are a buffer between the two most populous nations and can be a bridge in the future also if the Sino-Tibet disputes are resolved. We have to approach China for a negotiated settlement but for this, China has to raise the trust level with its neighbours”, he said.

The Tibetan leader said he would be approaching the European countries to apprise them of the situation.

"India has more than the 3600-km non-porous border with Tibet but there is no man-to-man, culture-to-culture contacts and trade on the border which is very sad in the 21st century.

"There should be more understanding, more cooperation and more stability, and to bring stability, China has to upscale the trust level," he added.

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