China wants good relations with India and Pakistan: Chinese Envoy

NEW DELHI - China’s envoy to India Zhang Yan today said that his country wants to have good relations with India and Pakistan,and added that Beijing does want its relations with one country to affect the other.

Speaking exclusively to ANI on the sidelines of a function at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), which was organized to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and China, Yan said both India and Pakistan were close neighbours of China.

“We don’t want to see relations of one country affect relationship with the other country, that’s not our policy,” Yan said.

“We hope the three countries (India, Pakistan and China) join efforts to work together for the betterment of the region and for betterment of three countries,” he added.

China and Pakistan are seen as all weather friends. The Asian dragon is making investments in building huge dams in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and restive Balochistan province. China has also helped Pakistan with the building of that country’s nuclear reactors and also remained a key supplier of arms and ammunition.

China’s cozy relationship with Pakistan is seen with a sense of skepticism by India, which is competing with China for economic supremacy in Asia and, both countries have a festering border dispute on which several rounds of discussions have taken place among the special representatives of the two countries, but has achieved very little.

Speaking on the border issue, Yan said: “We conduct our relations in a more broader way, not just focus on border issue. We have more other important areas of cooperation, more urgent issues to work together.”

Emphasizing the underlying tensions, Yan said: “Like any other country, there are problems and differences but, that’s not a big difficulty. I agree we should handle our relationship more actively and in a more positive way, especially to appropriately handle the difficulties and the remaining problems between our two countries.”

Making a veiled reference to the shrill media reports of Chinese incursions, which dominated the media of both countries, Yan stressed that both countries should guide public opinion in fair and just manner.

Earlier speaking at the ICWA, National Security Advisor Shiv Shanker Menon said the emergence of “nativist” voices, and the loud expression of opinion as fact in the new media which purports to express public opinion, could introduce volatility in perceptions.

“Neither India nor China can afford misperceptions or distortions of policy caused by a lack of understanding of each other’s compulsions and policy processes,” Menon added.

On the occasion of 60 years of diplomatic relations between India and China, leaders of both countries exchanged pleasantries and compliments.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will also be making a visit to China on April 5 to flag off the Festival of India in Beijing. By Naveen Kapoor (ANI)