China urges India to see ties as partnership, not rivalry

China has called on India to establish a “correct strategic understanding” of bilateral ties and view Beijing as a partner rather than a rival, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during talks in New Delhi on Monday.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry’s readout, Wang said Beijing was ready to uphold the principle of cordiality and mutual benefit with New Delhi. The two ministers discussed a range of issues including border peace, trade, pilgrimages, people-to-people exchanges, connectivity, and river data sharing.

“We had productive conversations on our economic and trade issues, pilgrimages, people-to-people contacts, river data sharing, border trade, connectivity and bilateral exchanges,” Jaishankar told reporters. He added that the discussions would contribute to building a stable and forward-looking relationship.

The Chinese readout noted that dialogue at all levels between the two sides had been “gradually restored” after a prolonged period of tensions following the 2020 Himalayan border clash that left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

Wang stressed that as major developing nations, China and India should set an example by working together rather than treating each other as “threats.”