Chinese Envoy Cautions Against 'China Threat' Narrative, Says India Ties Entering New Phase
New Delhi: The Chinese Ambassador to India on Thursday (March 26) Xu Feihong said vested interests were seeking to prevent India and China from “living in harmony”, urging young people to “think independently” and move beyond an “information cocoon” that amplifies the “so-called China threat”, while adding that bilateral relations have entered a new phase of improvement.
Speaking at the fourth edition of India-China Youth Dialogue, Xu asserted that the two Asian giants are “neighbours that cannot be moved apart”.
While taking no names, he warned that “some people” were seeking to drive a wedge between India and China by amplifying differences and promoting a “so-called China threat”.
“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,” he said.
Noting that global landscape was complex, he asserted that “young people should think independently and step out of the information cocoon”.
“You may always ask yourselves, what kind of relationship do our peoples truly need? What can China-India cooperation bring to our two countries and to the world? We welcome all young people from India to visit China, see it with your own eyes, experience the vitality of Chinese modernisation, share stories of China-India friendship, and help build a more objective and rational understanding between our two peoples,” he said.
His remarks come against the backdrop of a relationship that is still recovering from the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, which pushed ties to their lowest point in decades.
A breakthrough agreement in October 2024, followed by meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping led to disengagement in friction points, helping ease immediate tensions and restart various bilateral mechanisms which had remained frozen for four years.
While both sides have since disengaged at the friction points and agreed on mechanisms to maintain stability, the larger process of de-escalation and troop reduction remains incomplete.
“Since the meetings between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan and Tianjin, China-India relations have moved from a reset and fresh start to a new level of improvement, with positive progress in exchanges and cooperation across various fields,” said Xu.
He stated that the development of bilateral ties required not only the leadership to be in sync, but also “the mutual understanding and affinity between our peoples, especially among young generations like you”.
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