India, China ties on correct path of improvement: Chinese FM Wang Yi

Beijing: India, China relations have embarked on a “correct path” of improvement, and their shared interests far outweigh differences, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of both countries, China-India relations have embarked on a correct path of improvement and development, Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), said.  

Facing a complex and turbulent international situation, China is willing to work with India to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, uphold the principle of viewing each other as development opportunities rather than threats and treat each other as partners rather than competitors, he said during a farewell call on the outgoing Indian Ambassador Pradeep Rawat. 

India, China relations, which were frozen for over five years following the military standoff in Ladakh, improved after the meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia during the BRICS summit in 2024 and in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO summit last year.

In the last few months, India and China have stepped up efforts to stabilise their relations, seeking a reset after the 2020 military standoff in the Galwan Valley plunged ties to the lowest point in decades.

Wang said that as two neighbouring countries and major emerging economies, India and China’s shared interests far outweigh their differences, an official press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Without the modernisation of China and India, there can be no modernisation of the world, he said.

China is also willing to expand mutually beneficial cooperation across various fields, safeguard the common interests of the Global South, strengthen multilateral collaboration within mechanisms such as BRICS, and consolidate the hard-won positive momentum in China-India relations.

India is set to host the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit later this year. Xi is expected to attend the summit.

Wang expressed appreciation for Rawat’s efforts and contributions to the development of China-India relations, the press release said.

Rawat, who will retire later this month, will be succeeded by the current Indian Ambassador to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami.