New Delhi: China’s Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, said on Tuesday that Beijing is prepared to partner with India in its pursuit of modernisation, calling development the “greatest common denominator” between the two nations.
Addressing a seminar titled China’s 15th Five-Year Plan: New Blueprint for China’s Development, New Opportunities for China-India Cooperation, the envoy said the two countries should work to align their development strategies and move forward together on the path of modernisation.
Xu said China is ready to engage as a “doer” in high-level practical cooperation. “During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will continue to strengthen the real economy, accelerate high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, and expand high-standard opening-up. This will create more cooperation opportunities for all countries, including India,” he noted.
He highlighted China’s plans to upgrade traditional industries such as chemicals and machinery, which could generate about $1.4 trillion in new market opportunities over the next five years. Emerging sectors like new energy and new materials are expected to become major growth drivers, while strategic investment in future industries — such as bio-manufacturing and sixth-generation mobile communications — will help build a new high-tech ecosystem in the coming decade.
Xu said China is ready to deepen cooperation with India as it advances initiatives like “Make in India,” adding that both sides can grow their shared economic interests. He also said Beijing welcomes more imports of premium Indian goods and increased Indian investment in China.
The envoy further said China is prepared to work with India to defend multilateralism. Without naming the United States, he criticised “major countries” for pursuing unilateral hegemony through trade wars and selective application of international rules, arguing that China and India should jointly oppose such trends and help guide multipolarity and globalisation in the right direction.
According to Xu, bilateral trade between India and China reached $115.2 billion in the first nine months of the year, an 11 per cent increase year-on-year. Indian exports to China have recorded monthly growth of over 10 per cent since April, with a 42 per cent rise in October.
He noted that China has resumed the pilgrimage for Indian nationals to Kangrinboqe Feng and Mapam Yuco (Kailash Manasarovar Yatra) in the Xizang Autonomous Region, while India has restarted issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens as ties normalise. Direct flights between both countries have also resumed, developments he said were warmly welcomed by people on both sides.
Xu added that the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin earlier this year laid the foundation for further improvement and development of bilateral relations.
