Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong argued that India and China should strengthen communication and coordination and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.
India and China achieved “remarkable” development in the last few decades because of their “hard work” not due to the “generosity” of others, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong said on Thursday. He rejected the claims that outside powers fuelled Beijing’s economic rise. Xu’s remarks are largely seen as a rebuttal to recent remarks by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who recently characterised past US economic support for China as a “mistake” that Washington will avoid repeating with New Delhi.
“In recent decades, both China and India have achieved remarkable development. These achievements are built on the hard work and wisdom of our own people, supported by global cooperation, and are by no means the result of others’ generosity,” the envoy said while speaking at the 14th China-India Youth Dialogue.
“China and India are neighbours that cannot be moved apart. It should be the right choice for both sides to be good-neighbourly friends and partners that help each other succeed, and realise the Dragon-Elephant Tango,” he said.
“However, some people are unwilling to see China and India live in harmony. They deliberately amplify our differences, hype up the so-called ‘China threat’, and hope to profit from discord between our two countries,” Xu said.
In a thinly veiled dig at the US, the Chinese ambassador, without naming any country, said certain elements do not want to see China and India live in harmony and “hype up” the “so-called China threat”, hoping to profit from the “discord”.
In an address at the Raisina Dialogue earlier this month, Landau said that the US will not repeat the mistake of providing India the same type of economic advantages it gave China that helped Beijing become a key competitor of the US.