PRESS RELEASE
Li Keqiang’s and Modi’s Emphasis on Furthering Closer China-India Relations Could Upset Western Troublemakers
Nov. 21, 2015 (EIRNS)—Meeting on the sidelines of the leaders’ meeting on East Asian Cooperation at Kuala Lumpur, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his India counterpart, Narendra Modi, made it known to the world that China and India—the world’s two most populous nations—“have more common interests than divergences,” the BRICS Post reported today.
The joint statement by the two came in the wake of a number of reports that have emanated from the West saying, in essence, that China-India relations have remained fragile. One Western analyst, Daniel S. Markey, Adjunct Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia in the CFR’s Contingency Planning Memorandum No. 27 of the month of November, went on to claim
"multiple China-India disputes sparked at nearly the same time is a realistic, if unlikely, scenario during the next twelve to eighteen months."
He cited China-India differences over Tibet, the South China Sea, and the China-India borders as the cause celebres.
At Kuala Lumpur, however, Li and Modi once again buried Markey’s wishful thinking, saying both Beijing and New Delhi
"look forward to strengthening coordination on multilateral affairs and jointly tackling terrorism and other global challenges,"
BRICS Post reported. They also said that
"India and China, beyond the economic advantages of closer ties, have mutual geopolitical interests too."
Both New Delhi and Beijing are expected to increase their commitment to Afghanistan as U.S. troops there pull out, since they are fearful of anarchy in the war-torn south Asian state spilling over to destabilize the region.
In addition, Modi said his country is willing to work with China to implement the consensus the two sides have reached and deepen cooperation in such areas as trade and economy, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
"Happy to meet my friend, Premier Li Keqiang. We had wide-ranging talks on India-China ties during our meeting,"
Modi tweeted, wrote BRICS Post.
The two also discusses the construction of a regional economic corridor involving India.
"China is willing to work with India to strive for ‘early harvests’ in the construction of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor,"
said Li. China and India had in 2013 formed an intergovernmental body with Bangladesh and Myanmar for the BCIM economic corridor. Consultations have been held earlier on the feasibility of a BCIM economic corridor, a region host to 40% of the world’s population. The belt hopes to retrace the lost trails and revive commercial trade in the "Southern Silk Route."
"China and India boosting mutual trust and cooperation will not only achieve win-win results, but also contribute to the peace, development and prosperity of Asia and the world at large,"
Li said at the meeting with the Indian leader.
