China needs stability with India and wants to ensure that New Delhi does not become part of any alliance aimed at Beijing, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, former adviser to the Chinese government, has said.
Speaking to NDTV’s Shiv Aroor as Chinese President Xi Jinping met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, Kuhn said it is in China’s interest to have a stable relationship with India. “The relationship between India and China is perhaps the second most important bilateral relationship in the world after the China-US relationship,” Kuhn said. “I believe that China, and Xi Jinping in particular, needs and wants to have a stable relationship with India so that India doesn’t become part of a so-called anti-China alliance, whether it’s the Quad or relationship with Japan,” Kuhn said. Kuhn said the India-China relationship could become the most important bilateral relationship in the world in the second half of the 21st century, after the China-US relationship. He said Xi Jinping needs stability as China works towards improving the standard of living of its people. He said China’s focus on improving living standards includes efforts such as the anti-poverty campaign and the “Common Prosperity” programme.
