China on Monday expressed “appreciation” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remark on India-China ties on Lex Fridman’s podcast, saying a cooperative dance between the elephant and dragon is the only choice for both nations.
Reacting to PM Modi’s positive statement on India-China relations, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said her country noted the statement and appreciated it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast, emphasised strengthening the relations between India and China, saying that competition should not turn into conflicts and differences shouldn’t be replaced by disputes.
“If you look at historical records, for centuries, India and China have learned from each other. Together, they have always contributed to the global good in some way. Old records suggest that at one point, India and China alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of the world’s GDP. That’s how massive India’s contribution was. And I believe our ties have been extremely strong, with deep cultural connections,” the Prime Minister told Lex Fridman.
“But our focus is to ensure that these differences don’t turn into disputes. That’s what we actively work toward,” the PM said.
Mao said the successful meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, in October provided strategic guidance for the improvement and development of bilateral ties.
Both sides have earnestly followed through on the important common understandings, strengthened exchanges and achieved positive outcomes, she added.
“Let me stress that in the 2000 plus years’ history of interactions, the two countries have maintained friendly exchanges” and both the countries learned from each other contributing to civilisational achievements and human progress, she said.
