China positive on Putin’s India visit

Beijing: China on Monday reacted positively to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, framing the three countries as an important part of the Global South and saying that sound trilateral ties are conducive to regional and global peace and stability, besides their own national interests.

“China, Russia and India are emerging economies and important members of the Global South,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing here, reacting for the first time to Putin’s high-profile visit to New Delhi last week and his interactions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Guo said that the “three countries maintaining sound relations is not only in line with their own interests but also conducive to regional and global peace, security, stability and prosperity”.

Putin’s visit was watched here closely, considering Beijing’s close and strong ties with Moscow. Responding to a question about Putin’s comments about New Delhi and Beijing ahead of his visit, Guo said that “China stands ready to work with Russia and India to continue advancing the bilateral relations”. In an interview, Putin had said, “India and China are our closest friends - we treasure that relationship deeply.”