Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui
Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui on Wednesday said that disputes between the two neighbouring countries were as natural as issues between two brothers of a family staying under one roof.
Luo said that China President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi share good chemistry and that he was very touched by their informal meeting in Wuhan last year.
“Something going wrong between the two great neighbouring countries is natural, just like brothers of a family living under one roof have issues, it is very natural,” Luo told news agency ANI on the sidelines of a seminar hosted by Chinese embassy in New Delhi.
“If you compare family exchanges of 2,000 years, some minor problems are nothing. Of course, it's not nothing and we didn't ignore that matter. We worked together and resolved the problem, which ensured that bilateral relations were back on normal track,” he added.
Luo said that India and China had reached a consensus to make bilateral ties stable and break the cycle of highs and lows in the relations between the two countries.
“India-China ties are important for both the countries. We already reached a consensus under the leadership of both sides. We now maintain that China-India relationship will continue to move in a healthy and stable direction,” he added.
The Doklam stand-off between India and China in June 2017 resulted in tensions between the two countries. Luo had played a significant role in dousing the tensions.
Speaking on unresolved border issues, Luo said it was important to maintain peace and tranquillity and "border disputes are left over by history."
“Border issues are a left over by history and it takes a long time to resolve. Before we can resolve the matters, we must maintain peace and tranquillity along the border area. We should also focus on economic cooperation, strengthen our friendship and narrow down the disputes," he said.
Speaking on the growing trade deficit between India and China, the Chinese envoy said: "We have made a lot of progress so that is why I am always optimistic on the economic side. The two-way trade last year is over USD 95 billion and of course, it is in favour of China. On economic and trade matters and on regional and global issues we share a lot of similarities."
"So this is the whole picture. I am also talking about trade deficit where it is not on direction and we would like to see. I am sure with the progress of the economic development from both sides, this matter will be resolved," Luo added.
Luo will be returning to Beijing on the evening of May 27 after he was promoted to the level of a vice-minister. He will be looking after Asian Affairs.
Modi and Xi had met during the informal meeting in Wuhan in April last year. The meeting was held without a fixed agenda.
The informal summit took place in the backdrop of Doklam stand-off which had strained ties between New Delhi and Beijing.
The Chinese President had also visited Gujarat, Modi's home state, after the BJP government came to power in 2014.
(With ANI inputs)
