Hailing India for keeping “neutral stand” over the South China Sea issue despite pressure from the US and Japan, state-run Chinese agency said there are some contradictions and frictions between the two nations but the overall bilateral relations have been developing smoothly . It also flayed Indian media for “going too far” to blame China for blocking India’s membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and linking last week’s Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India to the South China Sea issue. Last month an international tribunal struck down China’s claims over the South China Sea based on historic rights, pushing Beijing on the back foot in its maritime dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan over the area. The two nations may have discussed the issue during Wang’s visit, and it is possible for both sides to clarify their own ideas, stances and policies over the matter, but the conjecture that Wang was trying to win India’s support over the South China Sea by helping New Delhi with the NSG membership doesn’t make sense at all. Though relations are generally stable without major conflicts, Beijing and New Delhi have raised hopes for economic and trade cooperation, but turning them into reality requires wider consensus and more consultations. Apart from the sluggish global economy, a major problem remains hard to resolve – India’s growing trade deficit with China. Indian products are not competitive and New Delhi complains that Chinese markets are not open enough. Due to the remaining divergences, no good solution has yet been found. Meanwhile, there is also no real progress on the Beijing-raised Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, which is a vital part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Numerous reasons can be listed, including political changes and social turmoil in Myanmar. As the two largest emerging powers in Asia, if China and India can enhance their friendly ties, and have more cooperation on international issues such as carbon emission reduction, reforming the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the two countries can share more mutual profits, even on Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) rather than Pakistan-Administered-Kashmir, like it used to. Is Beijing changing its stance? Economic cooperation between India, Pakistan and China would create an open atmosphere for launching talks to solve the Kashmir dispute.
