In the face of anti-globalization, trade protectionism and global governance challenges, the world’s two largest emerging economies, China and India, now share even more common interests and development needs, as well as great potential for deepening cooperation, wrote Hu Zhiyong, director of Shanghai Institute for Maritime Strategies, on news portal nanhainet.cn.
The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is increasing China’s cooperation with South Asian countries, and the initiative itself is open and inclusive. He proposed the administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can take a more pragmatic attitude toward the BRI and push for regional integration and connectivity, not to mention the job opportunities it will create for India. The expert also called on both countries to strengthen cooperation under multilateral frameworks like BRICS, while increasing cooperation on international and regional issues.
They need to increase strategic mutual trust – seeing each other as a partner not a rival, which constitutes the basis for common development, Hu said. They could strengthen political communication, focus on major issues, seek out common interests and resort to peaceful consultations to manage and resolve differences. Besides, a communication mechanism involving companies, media outlets and think tanks will help deepen bilateral ties.
With high economic complementarities, both countries also have potential for comprehensive economic cooperation, covering trade, investment, manufacturing, infrastructure, IT and healthcare. India is already one of the most important destinations for corporate China’s overseas investment, Hu noted. He proposed that the two can cooperate on projects in third countries and alleviate the trade imbalance to make economic ties the stabilizer of the bilateral relations as a whole.
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