New Delhi: India’s relations with China have returned to a “normal track” and there have been positive developments like Beijing giving market access to Indian products, but much is yet to be done in addressing the widening trade deficit, official sources said.
India’s relationship with China was severely hit by the 73-day face-off between armies of the two countries at the strategically sensitive Doklam tri-juction in the Sikkim sector last year.
The sources said the political relationship between the two neighbours has just not only been restored but heightened in the past one year. At the same time, they said India was seriously concerned over China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the way international norms and standards in giving contracts under the project were being flouted .
The sources also said India expects China to walk the talk on the issue of giving market access to Indian products.
“The positive development is that relations with China have returned to the normal track,” said an authoritative source, while summing up India’s diplomatic engagement in 2018.
Calling Indo-Pacific as a major area of India’s interest, the sources said the country was keen to talk about it with China and the issue was likely to figure regularly in bilateral talks between the two nations.
They said there was no total unanimity between India and the US on all issues relating to the Indo-Pacific and that New Delhi wants all major powers to be engaged over key matters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have held bilateral meetings three times and held an informal summit in Wuhan this year, which the sources described as “unprecedented”. They said the second informal summit between leadership of the two countries is likely to be held in the second half of 2019. On partnerships with leading powers, the sources said India’s ties with the US proceeded on a positive track, while “significant trust” has also been built with Russia.
The sources said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a a direct challenge to India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and that it is for dual use, including for military purposes.
India has been strongly opposing the CPEC, which is part of the BRI, as it passes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
On BRI, they said it should follow international norms, ensure transparency and most importantly, respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries. (PTI)
