India should not get “entangled” in SCS dispute: China

     “Under normal circumstances, defusing the tensions between the two counties will help lay a sound foundation for fostering closer economic ties. In this regard, Wang Yi’s trip will offer concrete opportunities for India,” the daily said.

“India’s exports to China have dropped 16.7 per cent year-on-year in the first seven months of the year, Chinese customs data showed Monday, suggesting that a large number of Indian enterprises are having a hard time exploring the Chinese market amid simmering tensions between the two countries. 

Regretfully, due attention has not been paid to the living conditions of those Indian firms,” it said.

Wang’s visit will be the firt high-level visit between the two countries after China stalled India’s Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership bid at the Plenary meeting of the 48-nation grouping in June on the grounds that it was a non-NPT signatory.

Wang’s visit also comes just days after Chinese troops transgressed the border on land and by air in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand last month.Wang will also be visiting Goa, where India is due to host BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in October.

Meanwhile, another article in the same daily accused India of blocking BRICS initiative to liberalise visa regime for member countries and said getting business visa to India has become a “pain in the butt”.

“Given its unusual sensitivity, the Indian authorities’ visa policies toward Chinese personnel often reflect the latest twists and turns in the Sino-Indian relations,” it said.

 It alleged that “in the aftermath of India’s failed bid to join the NSG, which New Delhi blamed Beijing as the culprit behind the scenes of their non-admittance, the Indian authorities first refused to renew the visas of three Chinese journalists from Xinhua, then blocked a visa waiver programme for BRICS nationals for security reason.”  

“Although news about India’s latest reform on GST galvanised waves of optimism among business communities across China, for Chinese nationals, a business visa to India remains a pain in the butt,” it said.

The article said that although boundary disputes, NSG membership and other “historical episodes” are unlikely to be solved in the short run, it is in both countries’ interests to “look beyond and explore the new possibilities”.