New Delhi: Outgoing Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said it is natural for India and China to have differences as neighbours but the focus should be to seek common ground for development and resolve pending issues through dialogue.
Completing his three-year tenure, Sun said both nations are important neighbours to each other and the key is how to handle the differences. The Galwan Valley clash that happened in June 2020 was during his time and Indo-Chinese ties have been strained since then.
He added that the common interests of India and China are greater than the differences. "The two sides should strive to manage and resolve differences, and look for a proper solution through dialogue and consultation, instead of defining China-India relations by differences."
Referring to Rabindranath Tagore, he said: "We Easterners can neither borrow the minds of the West nor the temperament of the West. We need to discover our own right to be born with."
"If the Western theory of geopolitics is applied to the China-India relationship, then major neighbouring countries like us will inevitably view each other as threats and rivals. Consequently, competition and confrontation will be the main mode of interaction, and a zero-sum game will be the inevitable result," said the outgoing envoy.
"But the reality is that geographical proximity is an objective existence. It should be an opportunity for us to have more interaction and cooperation, tap our potential and learn from and complement each other," added the ambassador.
He further said both nations need to respect each other's political systems and development paths and uphold the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Sun added that India and China need to avoid "misunderstanding and miscalculation."
Sun added that India and China should enhance communication and cooperation. "China and India have established dialogue mechanisms in various levels and departments. We should make full use of all the communication channels, and deepen mutual understanding in order to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation."