Envoy to India stresses on partnership

China's Ambassador to India, Sun Weidong, says China and India "should be partners rather than rivals", and he has called on the two countries to put their relationship back on the right track.

In a video published on Friday, Sun said it was of great importance for China and India firmly to grasp the consensus the country's two leaders had reached.

"I believe as long as we follow the guidance of our two leaders, implement the consensus reached by the special representatives, focus on friendship and cooperation, defuse suspicion and misgivings, and properly handle differences and sensitive issues, we will be able to address challenges we are facing and bring bilateral relations back on the right track for sound and steady development," Sun said.

Sun's remarks came after the Special Representatives of the China-India Boundary Question, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval talked by phone on July 5 and formed a consensus on easing the current border situation.

"Currently, our front line troops are disengaging on the ground in accordance with the consensus reached by the Military Corp Commander talks," Sun said.

Against the backdrop of recent events in Galwan Valley in the western section of the China-India boundary, some in India had raised doubts about the consensus, Sun said, and had a wrong perception of the direction of China-India relations.

Top priority

"For both China and India, achieving development and revitalization is the top priority where we share long-term strategic interests."

Since the 1990s China and India have reached an important consensus that the two countries pose no threat to each other.

During the Wuhan Informal Summit in 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed that the two countries provide each other with development opportunities instead of posing threats, which the two sides should adhere to.

"This is the fundamental judgment on China-India relations, charting the course for the development of our bilateral relations," Sun said.

"Only through a correct view of each other's intentions with a positive, open and inclusive attitude, can we ensure stable and long-term development of bilateral relations and avoid any strategic miscalculation."

Sun stressed that China and India need peace rather than confrontation. The two should always bear in mind the overall relationship, put differences in an appropriate place and not allow them to interfere with bilateral relations, he said.

China and India need to build trust, rather than suspicion, he said.

"If China and India wish to speed up the realization of our own development and revitalization, mutual respect and support is a sure way and meets the long-term interests of both countries."

Xinhua contributed to this story.