BEIJING: The Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Thursday compared India-China ties to “glass” and said neither side wanted the Galwan Valley incident to happen.
But the envoy stuck to the stand that Indian troops were to blame for having adopted an aggressive stance on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since April this year. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Institute of Chinese Studies headed by former Indian envoy to China Ashok Kantha.
Sun disagreed with the opinion of former Indian envoys to Beijing that India-China ties were at a turning point after the Galwan Valley clash.
“At this critical moment, we should handle relations cautiously and resolutely avoid the whirlpool of suspicion and confrontation. Our relations today are hard-earned and should be cherished all the more,” he observed while asking them not to jump to conclusions on the basis of “temporary differences and difficulties”.
Besides reiterating the views already made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Sun cautioned against India’s imposition of punitive measures on Chinese trade and investment. “Our economies are highly complementary, interwoven and interdependent. Forced decoupling is against the trend and will only lead to a ‘lose-lose’ outcome,” he said.
India has already banned 59 Chinese apps, restricted investments from China and has already narrowed the scope of Chinese products in Government tenders.
The Chinese envoy pointed out that trade cooperation in mobiles, infrastructure, automobile manufacturing and medicine has created a large number of local jobs and made available cost effective products for Indian consumers.
“It is a reflection of globalisation. Whether you want it or not, the trend is difficult to reverse. Both are deeply embedded in the global industrial supply chain. The development of economic and trade cooperation is determined by international division of labour,” said Sun.
In an attempt to shift the goal posts, the envoy said the “invisible virus” rather than China is the threat for Indians and offered assistance now and in the future when the vaccine is developed.